I'll Keep You
by Lucy Grayson
Summary: ...My Dirty Little Secret. Sequel to A Hardy Tale but can stand alone . Sevina's been traded. Jeff is lost. Matt is confused. Things are taking a turn for the strange. R n R. Matt H/Jeff H/Kane/Undertaker/OC Rated for Language
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except Sevina. I do not own any of the music and I do not own the WWE. No copyright infringement is intended.**

** This story is the sequel to A Hardy Tale, so anyone who hasn't read that might be a little confused by some of the established relationships and references in this story, but I have tried to make it as able to stand alone as possible.**

**For those who did read it, this one focuses a lot more on the character's working lives, though there's still plenty of drama in their private lives :D**

**Enjoy and please review!**

Chapter 1

Traded. The word was like a drum beat, repeating itself over and over and Sevina Ataera couldn't get it out of her mind. She lay on the bed in her hotel room, the bulky script laying beside her. Traded. She'd been traded. No more Raw, no more Matt, no more…Jeff. She mentally flinched at the last name that went through her head. She couldn't linger over the pain that, just thinking about him caused her. It had been months, she'd been dating Shannon for a while now and yet she still felt the gaping void where her best friend and possibly love of her life, should be. Now that gap, that chasm was just going to get worse. She couldn't have Jeff, she couldn't even retain her friendship with him, but at least, whilst she was with Raw, she could see him every day and know that he was alright.

Jeff was not working for the WWE anymore, but he had been allowed to travel with Matt. Sevina let out a long sigh and pressed a hand to her forehead. Matt knew, of course, he'd been told before she had, though she couldn't quite figure out why. This was the best career move for her, she knew that, but she loved working on Raw, she had her friends there. She didn't want to move and have to start making friends all over again.

She sat up, crossing her legs and running her fingers through her short, blue hair. She had had it highlighted so that the blue was even more noticeable now. She grimaced slightly. Well, it would fit in well on SmackDown. She ran her hands down her face and looked at the script next to her. That was the other thing that was bothering her. The storyline that was waiting for her was huge. It was insane. She'd been with the WWE for less than a year and they now expected her to handle something like this.

The sound of Live for the Moment reverberating around her room made her jump and she swore. "Matt!" He wasn't there but she was going to kill him when she got her hands him, for yet again changing her ringtone. She grabbed her cell from her bag and frowned at the number. Oh, that was just what she didn't need right now. She sighed and hit the answer button. "Hi, Jeff."

The sound of Jeff's voice never failed to stun her into silence and she always hesitated before saying anything in return, as if trying to subconsciously force him to keep speaking. She loved his voice. "Hey, Kid. How's it going?"

"Um…well, I have some news actually."

"Yeah?" Jeff sounded curious. That was weird. Usually he sounded bored at best when they talked now. He phoned her out of necessity, because she worried when he didn't and she'd made him promise to call at least once a day. She didn't tell him that it was also because she missed him horribly, despite seeing him most days. Sevina sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, pulling her knees up to her chest. "Yeah, um…I saw Mr McMahon today and…" She stopped. She didn't want to say it because she knew what his reaction would be and it wasn't the reaction it should have been. If they had still been as close as they once were, he would have been devastated, but now, he probably wouldn't care. She rubbed her eyes and forced herself to continue. "I've been traded to SmackDown."

Silence. Jeff said nothing. For the longest time they were both silent and Sevina began to wonder if he'd hung up, or his signal had dropped out. "Jeff? You still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here." The answer was instantaneous, but was followed by more silence. Sevina was starting to feel uncomfortable. She waited and waited and a few times she thought she heard him take a breath as if he were going to speak, but he didn't. Eventually, after the most painful length of time, he found his voice. "Does Matt know?" Sevina winced, closing her eyes. Of course, no reaction from Jeff, she wasn't important enough to warrant a reaction from him anymore. "Yeah. Vince told him first actually."

"Right…okay, well, we should go out a celebrate." Sevina felt like she was choking on her own breath. _Celebrate? _He wanted to celebrate her leaving? Just when she thought Jeff couldn't cause her any more pain, he did. She bit it down and nodded slowly. "Celebrate, right. Of course." As if he had picked up on her true reaction, Jeff's voice came through with more feeling, more warmth than he had directed towards her in a long time. "I just mean, it's a great move for your career. Instead of just being Matt's manager and stuff, you get to break away from that and make a name for yourself without anyone else's help."

Sevina squeezed her eyes shut. He had no idea how wrong he was, but she couldn't tell him that. She couldn't tell him anything about what she'd be doing on SmackDown. Still, she was a little relieved that he didn't just want to celebrate because she was leaving. "Yeah, absolutely. Good point. Um…listen, I have to go. I just remembered, I have to do…something." She finished lamely, knowing there was no point making excuses with Jeff because he would be extremely eager to get off the phone with her as it was. Still, she could have sworn she heard disappointment in his voice when he said goodbye. She shrugged it off and put her phone down.

She turned her attention to her script and slowly flicked through the pages. It was the basic script for the entire storyline. She knew it would be edited as they went along, but this was the backbone of it and it would stay essentially the same. She still couldn't get her head around it, there were a lot of twists, a lot of sudden changes, revelations and one part which confused her altogether. Every other script she'd been given, had had all the names of every superstar involved, but in the middle of this one a new person entered, but there was no name. The only conclusion she could come to, was that the writer's hadn't found someone to fit the role yet. Some part of her heart hoped that maybe they'd decide to pick Matt or someone else from Raw to come and join her on SmackDown. She instinctively knew better. Her luck didn't run that way.

She threw the script onto the floor and chewed on her lip. She needed a distraction. She picked up her cell and scrolled through her contact list. She could call Shannon, but he was working today. He was back at home and she didn't want to disturb him. She considered calling John. She had developed a very good friendship with John Cena, but she figured he would be with his girlfriend and she certainly didn't want to interrupt that. She couldn't call Matt because anything she said to him would get back to Jeff and she really didn't need that right now.

How could she explain to Matt that she didn't want to go to SmackDown mainly because it meant she wouldn't see Jeff anymore. She and Jeff were still friends, but only by the weakest definition. They no longer connected or talked about anything important. If they were left alone, they didn't talk at all. They didn't touch. There was a very strict 'no touching' policy in effect between them now, where they had previously been joined at the hip. Jeff was her best friend, she still considered him that, even though she knew it was very far from the truth. She wasn't ready to let that go. She'd accepted that things couldn't go back to how they had been, she knew that they could never be what they were and never be more than they'd become, but she missed him. Despite how much it hurt, she missed being able to talk to him, touch him, monopolize his attention and never get complained at for it.

She wondered if she would always be in love with Jeff and she really hoped not because maybe, if she could not feel this way, they could find a way back, a way to make it right again. Sometimes she felt as if she were being very unfair on Shannon. They had a good relationship and she loved him in her own way, but it seemed to pale into nothing compared to how she felt about Jeff. That guilt soon stopped when she had one of her 'conversations' with Shannon. These chats had started when Shannon had guessed that something was different between Jeff and Sevina. After some pushing and coaxing, she had told him everything, the entire truth. He'd been great about it and over time they had both admitted that they doubted this relationship would turn into a love that would defy the ages, but they liked each other enough to stay together. Whether it turned into something more or not wasn't important. For now they were enjoying being together and that was okay. They were having fun and neither regretted their relationship.

Sevina smiled as she thought about her haphazard boyfriend. He never seemed to stay in one place for very long, he was so hyperactive and needed constant change to keep him happy. Sevina didn't mind, it meant that he wasn't under her feet all the time. She wasn't a demanding girlfriend. She did wonder though, how Shannon would react when he found out she was being traded. Would he come and see her as often or would he divide his time equally between herself and their friends.

This train of thought brought her mind back to the script that now lay, discarded on the floor. She stared at it as if it were a snake that was going to bite her. She had always accepted the future with open arms, but before, the future had always included Matt and Jeff Hardy, now she had to face the prospect of doing it alone without her ever present back up. Was she strong enough to do that? She really didn't feel it. She felt fragile and pathetic…and nauseous. She quickly ran to her bathroom to throw up, as the nervous overtook her. Well, if nothing else, it was going to be interesting…


	2. Chapter 2

Sevina met SmackDown in Boston. She'd been a couple of times before when she was working on Raw, so there was a certain sense of familiarity there. She walked into the large hotel, clutching her suitcase like it was a lifeline. She looked around for any familiar face, but there were none. Some of the superstars were milling around in the lobby and she knew them from the show, but she hadn't really spoken to any of them enough to develop a proper relationship. She was trembling slightly with nerves as she checked in and accepted her room key. She felt completely outcast and had no idea how to go about settling in to this new company.

So it was a shock when she turned around and smacked straight into the biggest hug she'd ever received, from the smallest person imaginable. She was stunned and had no idea what to do. She return the embrace awkwardly, one hand still hanging onto her suitcase. When the brunette bundle that had just leapt on her moved back, Sevina instantly recognised the small, pretty woman in front of her as Maria Kanellis. The smaller woman was beaming brightly up at Sevina. "Hi! We got told you were joining us today, so I thought we should make you feel welcome!"

Clearly she had failed to notice that she was the only person so far to talk to Sevina. Still, the latter wasn't complaining and she smiled a little hesitantly. She knew all about Maria, of course but found that she had no idea what she was like outside of work. "Um…Hi. Thanks. It's nice to see a friendly face." Without another word, Maria hooked her arm through Sevina's, grabbing her room key and then all but frog-marching her away. Almost instantly, Sevina knew she was going to like Maria. She talked non-stop as she led her to her room and she was so utterly positive that it was impossible not to be effected by the warmth and happiness that seemed to pour out of her. Her enthusiasm seem inexhaustible and as she unlocked the door to Sevina's room she turned and beamed at her again, almost blinding her with the pure sunshine that seemed to be coming from her. "I guess this is you. Listen, I'm down the hall, three doors on the right, if you need anything, give me a shout, okay? We're a family here and we help each other out. So glad to have you here!" She enveloped Sevina in a another rib cracking hug, then giggled and jogged away.

Sevina was stunned into temporary stillness. That was the most bizarre, energetic greeting she had ever received. She felt herself smiling and shook her head, walking into the room. It was the same as all the others. Nothing to indicate that it was also totally different. Matt wasn't on the other side of the wall, waiting to change her ringtone as soon as she left her cell unattended. John wasn't down the hall and about to come charging in with a six pack of beers to tell her all about his girlfriend and how wonderful she was. Jeff wasn't there to not talk to her and make her feel like crap, but still make her feel better because he was there in the first place. Sevina sighed as the homesickness hit her. On the road with Raw, meant that home was wherever your friends were and her friends were definitely not here.

She dumped her suitcase and went to take a shower, wanting to rid herself off the grubby feeling that flying always gave her. When she got out, she instantly checked her phone to find that she had three messages. The first one was from Shannon, telling her to call as soon as she could and hoping her fight was okay. The other two shocked her. They were from Jeff.

_Hope everything goes well. Have a safe flight. Good luck._

_J x_

The next one hit her harder than the previous and she felt the lump grow in her throat as she read the two, small words;

_Miss you_

_X_

Was he _trying _to torture her? She dropped her phone and ran her hands restlessly down her face. She didn't want to think about him right now. She had too much other stuff that she needed to process first. She dressed quickly in a pair of jogging pants and a fitted t-shirt. She pulled on a pair of sneakers and headed down to the gym, leaving her cell behind. She didn't want to run the risk of getting any more messages and having a total breakdown in the middle of the hotel. She could do that in private.

The gym was quiet and she was thankful for that. She felt no need to strike up conversation with anyone. This was a good thing. Sevina was awful at making friends. She would rather be alone, than have to walk up to a stranger and start talking to them. She went to the one of the treadmills and let herself get lost in her workout. She had brought her ipod with her so she had music blasting her ears loud enough to drown everything else out. She almost, _almost_ screamed when a figure suddenly appeared on the treadmill beside hers. She had been so absorbed in her own world that she hadn't even noticed him approach.

She took a quick glance, trying to figure out who it was and at first had a little trouble. He was tall, lean, obviously very well built. He had long hair, that was pulled back into a ponytail. If he had been just had tattoos and brightly coloured hair, she could almost have mistaken him for someone else. As her eyes settled on his face, recognition hit her. This was also the moment that she realised he'd caught her looking at him. She blushed and turned her face away, looking down at the little screen no her treadmill. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw how far she'd run. That was much more than she'd intended. She quickly ended the programme and felt the mill slow down to ease her off.

She was about to leave when a hand came down on her shoulder. She stopped abruptly and turned, pulling her earphones out and lifting her head a little to look at the man who had stopped her. She smiled a little sheepishly, but he didn't seem to notice. He held a hand out, after releasing her shoulder. "Hi. Drew McIntyre." Sevina nodded and shook his hand, dropping it after the appropriate amount of him. "Yeah, I know. Sevina Ataera."

"You're the diva who's been traded from Raw, right?" Sevina nodded to confirm this, trying not to stare in awe at his accent. She'd never heard a real Scottish accent before and it was strangely bewitching. She shifted her weight form one foot to the other as he very obviously appraised her appearance, before speaking again. "So how come you're slumming it with us now?" Sevina smiled a little and shook her head. "I like SmackDown. It was my favourite brand as a kid." It wasn't a real answer to his question, but she couldn't give him that. McMahon's orders. No-one who wasn't involved in it, was allowed to know about her storyline.

Drew laughed and shrugged a little. "Well, listen, it might take some of the others a while to adjust to you being here. We're all kind of tight, like a family, you know? But I wouldn't worry. I'm sure you'll fit right in." Sevina smiled, but it was forced. She highly doubted she would 'fit in'. She had only just fitted in at Raw because of her inability to function properly in social situations. She doubted very much it would be different here. Still, this was the second person to talk to her today, so maybe it wouldn't be all bad after all. If she could just find her feet, maybe she'd be okay. This was another doubt she had. Tomorrow they were taping her first appearance in SmackDown, so she wasn't really going to get much time to adjust before she was thrown, headfirst into the deep end. This was going to go one of two ways; she would either soar to new heights, or fall flat on her face and lose the opportunity of a lifetime.


	3. Chapter 3

She had phoned Matt in the end, unable to sit by herself anymore after leaving the gym. The conversation had lasted almost an hour and Sevina was started to dread getting her bill at the end of the month if this kept up. The phone call, although pleasant, only made things worse. She missed her friends with a kind of painful intensity and just wanted to go back to Raw where she'd been comfortable and sort of happy.

Matt was worried about her, he could hear the unhappiness in her voice and he wanted to say the words that would comfort her, but he couldn't. As he hung up the phone, he found Jeff staring at him with a very intense gaze. Matt's eyebrows shot towards his hairline and he titled his head. "What?" Jeff rolled his eyes and walked across the room to sit on his brother's bed. "How is she?" He asked the question as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and Matt should already have known what he was going to say. Matt was reluctant to answer. He didn't like to get involved in the weird, torturous truce that Jeff and Sevina had called, but he could see that his younger sibling was genuinely concerned about his friend. "She's okay. She's homesick."

He frowned as he said it. He knew that Sevina was very intimidated by new situations, that she didn't slip into social mannerisms the way that other people might. She was fine with fans and with people she knew, when she was performing there wasn't an ounce of self doubt anywhere in her, but outside of all that, outside of the safety of a work persona, she kind of floundered. She'd never been good at making friends. Matt had all but had to force himself into her life when they'd first met. Of course, they'd been much younger then and he was hoping she'd acquired enough confidence to actually go and make friends, instead of sitting in her hotel room, pining for the things she'd left behind. She had a great opportunity and as much as Matt was missing her, he knew that this was a big chance for her.

Jeff was still staring at him, but his mind was somewhere else now. He was thinking about those messages he had sent her and pondering the fact that she hadn't replied. He shouldn't have sent them really, but the reality of having watched her go had hit him harder than he'd expected. He had done such a good job of keeping his distance from her, of acting as if he were happy that she was with Shannon and that she was getting on with her life. He never let on that he was at pretty much breaking point being around her every day and not being able to say the things he wanted to. For a few moments, his carefully structured façade had snapped and he had been unable not to send the messages.

Being around her all the time was hard, it was almost impossible actually and it hurt like hell, but the thought of not having that, of not having the agony to remind him that she was worth all the pain, was like being hit over the head with something heavy and blunt. He'd endure almost any pain, to still be able to see her every day, to be able to know for himself that she was alright and now he was reduced to asking his brother about her. Matt had never been fooled. He knew them both too well and he knew how much they were missing each other. You can't be someone's best friend for so many years and then just cut it off. It didn't work like that and Jeff hated giving Matt the satisfaction of knowing that he was right. Jeff wasn't coping without Sevina and from the subtle, badly disguised questions Sevina had asked, she wasn't coping without Jeff either, even if they barely spoke to each other anymore.

Matt watched as his brother stood up suddenly and left the room, banging the door a little too hard on his way out. He sighed and lay back on the bed, resting the back of his curled fist against his forehead and closing his eyes. He frowned as he heard a cell phone ringing and knew it wasn't his. He looked over and saw Jeff's phone on the armchair. He grabbed it to take it and run after his brother, glancing at the screen he froze in place. Why the hell was Vince McMahon phoning Jeff?

-----

Sevina forced herself to leave the hotel room that night. She even managed to convince herself to leave the hotel. She found a nearby restaurant and wandered in, a little nervously. She could instantly see that it was a favourite of a lot of the SmackDown superstars and had to bite back a groan. The last thing she needed was a tonne of eyes on her as she sat alone. She thanked whatever being it was that was watching over her as she was led to a table at the back of the restaurant. She felt the eyes on her ask she walked, but ignored them all. She took her seat and then buried her face behind the menu. She did not want to be here. It was a stupid idea. She should have just ordered room service. She sighed and lowered her menu, letting out a small squeak of alarm when she saw that she was no longer alone at the table. "Drew!"

Drew McIntyre was grinning at her, obviously pleased with himself for being able to surprise her. He waited until she had calmed down a little before motioning to the menu. "I'd recommend the fish. Best in the city." Sevina found herself, once more dumbstruck by his voice. She shook herself sharply and smiled in a polite manner. "Right. Thanks." She half expected him to get up and leave at that point, but he didn't and she was acutely aware of quite a few heads turned in their direction. Drew seemed oblivious and he just grinned at her. "How are you settling in?" Sevina lifted her hand and tilted it back and forth in a so-so motion. She didn't want to tell the truth, because the chances were she'd end up a blubbering mess on the floor, curled into a ball, demanding to be taken home.

"I know it's tough at first. I mean, I haven't been in this company a whole lot longer than you. I've also never had to switch brands either, so I guess I don't really understand as much as I think I do, but one thing I know about this lot," He motioned over his shoulder with his thumb. "You can't let yourself be intimidated. They're great when you get to know 'em, just gotta take that first jump." Sevina listened to him, then nodded, smiling a little as she lowered her eyes. "Thanks for the advice. I'll try. I've…never been much good with this kind of stuff."

"This is the life we chose, Kid. Gotta jump in with both feet."

"Please, don't call me that." Her voice wasn't harsh in any way, but Drew clearly saw the way her face twisted in some kind of distress. He lifted his hands up in a kind of surrender and nodded. "Hey, no problem. So, you wanna come join me and the others?" Sevina stared at him, alarmed by the offer. She glanced past him to the superstars he'd been sat with, who were all looking their way. They looked curious, but not hostile. She bit her lip, trying to think what Matt would do in this situation. She knew exactly what he'd do, but did she have the guts to be like Matt? She continued to mull it over as Drew watched her patiently. Well, she couldn't very well stay by herself all the time. She had to make a least some of the moves, try and fit in a little. As tempting as it was to curl into her shell and pine for her friends on Raw, this was a huge opportunity for her and it wasn't just going to fall into her hands. She had to work for it. She had to earn her stripes.

She took a deep breath, making a decision there and then, not to be the victim, but to take charge. She wasn't going to be the little girl who missed out on a big chance because she was scared the other kids wouldn't like her. She looked at Drew and smiled, then nodded. "Sure."

**A/N I am sorry that these first three chapters have been quite boring, but they were necessary. Next chapter...the fun begins :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N So this is where the fun starts. Please review! All feedback is greatly appreciated :D**

Sevina was nervous as hell. She hadn't even been this nervous when she had debuted on Raw, but then…she'd had her 'big brother' there and the knowledge that her best friend was watching at home, rooting for her. She could hear the crowd just a few feet beyond the gorilla position and she felt like she was going to hurl. She was going to be interrupting a speech being made by one of the other divas. One hell of a way to kick off her SmackDown career. She had met Mickie beforehand and they'd gotten along quite well. The other woman had gone off to start the speech after giving Sevina a pat on the back and wishing her luck. Luck. She was going to need plenty of that over the next few weeks.

She could hear Mickie's voice, loud and a hundred times more confident than Sevina could ever hope to be. Suddenly the sound of Deftones, Minerva began blasting from the speakers and Sevina put her game face on, jumping up and down a couple of times before running through the curtain. She emerged in the arena and tried not to hear the screams and applause from the crowd as they recognised her. She stood at the top of the ramp, with her hands on her hips, dressed today in black combat pants and a fitted t-shirt, her short, blue hair shining out under the bright lights. She glared towards the ring, where Mickie had stopped mid sentence to scowl at the woman who had interrupted her. "What the hell are you doing here, Sevina?! This is SmackDown! You belong to Raw!"

Sevina smirked and lifted her pre-prepared microphone to her lips as she sauntered towards the ring. She said nothing until she was walking up the steps. "Well, you see Mickie, I heard that the divas over here, think they're so much better than on Raw." She ducked under the ropes and stopped for a moment before slowly walking towards Mickie and getting into her face. "I'm here to prove that wrong!" Her announcement sent a new set of screams into the air from the audience. Mickie dropped her mic and lunged at Sevina, but she was ready for her. She grabbed her hair and threw her to the mat, hitting her with an elbow drop, before climbing to the top turnbuckle. She looked at the crowd with a smirk, before executing a perfect moonsault onto Mickie. She got quickly to her feet as a dejected Mickie rolled out of the ring. Sevina watched her scramble up the ramp, before picking up one of the discarded microphones. "Ladies and gentleman, I am here to officially show you how a diva _should _behave and I-" She was cut of by the sudden and very chilling sound of Slow Chemical by Finger Eleven suddenly blaring through the arena. She jumped as the four corner posts of the ring suddenly exploded in fire. Sevina only had to act up a little bit of the horror in her face as Kane's laugh filtered through the arena, long before his body appeared at the top of the ramp.

She could imagine what her face looked like; completely horror struck, not that she had to since it was being clearly disaplyed on the titantron. Her eyes were wide and her fingers released the microphone, letting it fall to the mat. She just stared at Kane as he lifted his own mic to his mouth and shuddered as his eerily cheerful voice invaded the stunned silence. "Are you lying, Sevina? Are you lying? Did you really come here to show up the divas…or did you come to face your past?" Sevina was shaking her head, trembling from head to foot, for all intents and purposes, terrified and that was only partially acting. Kane continued, maliciously enjoying every moment, his eyes locked on the terrified woman in the ring. "I know about you, Sevina. I know your secret. I know what you've been hiding and guess what, Sevina? I'm going to tell everybody!" He let out that infamous maniacal laugh as Sevina began to panic. She grabbed her mic from the mat and lifted it. "Kane! I came here for a fresh start! I came here to break away from who I used to be!"

"Well, you wont mind if I share a few details with everyone then. Will you?"

"Don't!" Sevina's voice shook as she half screamed at him. He laughed again, literally threw his head back and laughed, sending an uncomfortable shudder through every person present. "I'll tell you what, Sevina, I'll let _you _tell them." Without another word, the pyros went off for a second time and Kane was gone, leaving Sevina standing in the ring, looking like she faint from fright.

Todd Grisham and Matt Striker's commentary was almost audible to her, over the deafening, stunned silence of the audience.

_It looks like SmackDown's newest addition has some questions to answer._

_What the hell was that all about?_

_I don't know, but I get a feeling we'll find out._

_I hope so! I don't know if I can stand the wait though!_

Sevina waited the suitable amount of time before making her way backstage. Glen was waiting for her. He patted her on the shoulder and she craned her neck to look up at him, with an uneasy smile. Okay, so Glen was actually a really cool guy, but the sheer size of him and the years of watching him as Kane was enough to intimidate Sevina thoroughly. She figured she was just going to have to get used to that. He was smiling at her now and it was amazing the difference that a real smile made to his face. "You did great. " Sevina wrinkled her nose, shaking her head. "I was genuinely terrified. You're scary, Glen!" This made him laugh, a normal laugh, not the spine chilling sound that erupted from him when he was Kane.

Sevina excused herself and went to the women's locker room. Mickie was sat, nursing a bruise on her elbow. Sevina frowned when she saw her. "Mickie, I'm sorry. I know I hit that moonsault a little weird." Mickie laughed and waved off her apology. "Don't worry about it, Chick. I've had worse. Michelle ripped a huge chunk out of my hair last week. Totally by accident, of course." Mickie scrunched up her pretty face a little, then motioned to the t.v set. "That was awesome, by the way. Sure I can't persuade you to tell me what it's all about?" Sevina smiled and sat down on the bench to untie her boots. "Sorry. I'm under orders. I think Mr McMahon's exact words were; 'You tell anyone and I'll have you washing cars in your birthday suit for a year.'" Mickie laughed and shook her head. "Here, let me help you." She then proceeded to help Sevina unstrap the tape from her wrists. She'd always been useless at it and usually got Matt to do it for her. She watched silently as the other woman quickly unwound the thick tape and threw it in the bin. She smiled. "Thanks, Mickie. Not just for the tape but…for being cool, Y'know?" Mickie nodded, smiling brightly ad sitting down next to Sevina. "We look out for each other here and I remember what it was like, starting out here and not knowing anyone. Don't worry, hon. You're gonna be fine."

Sevina tried to feel comforted by that, but she still missed her friends so much. She knew they'd be watching when the show aired on Friday, but it wasn't the same as having them sitting here, waiting for her, ready to tell her how awesome she was, even if she'd tanked completely. She sighed a little as Mickie stood up. The other woman grabbed her bag, then winked at Sevina before leaving. Once she was alone, Sevina ran her fingers through her hair and swore. This storyline was crazy, it was huge and it was a fantastic chance for her career, but what if it just isolated her more? Being sworn to secrecy over it, not even being able to tell her friends was going to make it really hard for her.

With a heavy sigh, she dragged herself to her feet and got ready to leave. No time to relax. She had house shows all week until Friday, then she would finally get some time to sit down and watch the show. No doubt she'd get a phone call from Matt as soon as it was over, wanting to know everything. Everything that she wasn't allowed to tell him.


	5. Chapter 5

The house shows drained her. She was put into matches both nights and was stalked by Kane the whole time, Wednesday night just his music played, Thursday he turned up at ringside, crawling out from under the ring to torment her. By the time Friday rolled around, Sevina was exhausted. She had no idea how tiring the storyline was going to be. Glen was great and backstage he chatted to her like an old friend, encouraging her, but when he was in character he was terrifying and it didn't take much acting for Sevina to freak out whenever he showed up. It didn't help that she had no idea what angle he would come from each given night.

On the Friday, all of the superstars were gathering to watch the show, but Sevina didn't have the energy. She politely refused the invitations to join them and was surprised that the few people who asked her seemed genuinely disappointed, by her refusal. She thought it over for a long time, before deciding to give it a go. What did she have to lose? Apart from her dignity. She threw on a pair of jeans and a tank top before heading down to the lounge in the hotel where they were all gathering. She was a little nervous as she entered, not sure what to expect, but was soon swept up into a huge hug from Maria. She laughed and returned the embrace, before prising herself away. "You gotta stop doing that, Maria. You're gonna break my ribs on of these days." Maria giggled and put her hands over her mouth, looking very apologetic. "Sorry! I'm just so glad you came! Come on, let's get a drink and find some really good seats. You'll want to be right up front to see your debut!"

Sevina wanted to say that, no, she really didn't. She wanted to hide away in the back and cover her face, but Maria was simply irresistible, so she allowed herself to be led to the drinks table which had been set up in the corner. She laughed at Maria's expression when she picked up a beer. She didn't think anything of it until she looked at the label and then felt her stomach give an unpleasant lurch. Jeff's favourite beer. Sevina scowled. What, so now she had to be careful what beer she chose?

She'd been doing a really good job of not thinking about Jeff this week, but she'd known tonight would be difficult. When Matt called, which he inevitably would, she knew Jeff wouldn't be there. He wouldn't want to talk to her or tell her what he thought. Shannon was with Matt this week, so he would want to talk to her and that would have to be enough. She did miss Shannon. She hadn't seen him since she'd come over here, but missing Jeff, despite the state of their relationship was like a physical pain. She closed her eyes for a moment, not even aware that she was doing it. They snapped back open when she felt a small, gentle hand on her arm. "Sevina, you okay?" Maria's sweet face was full of concern and Sevina shoved away her thoughts and smiled, upsetting Maria was unacceptable. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just missing my friends, you know?" Maria nodded in an understanding way, then grabbed Sevina's hand and dragged her to the front row of seats which had been set up surrounding a huge screen. Sevina was really not looking forward to seeing her face magnified on that.

The lights dimmed and everyone quietened down, getting ready to watch the show. The opening music played and a cheer went around the gathered superstars. Sevina winced, resisting the urge to put her fingers in her ears and screw her eyes shut. She stared at the screen and a smile grew on her face. She hadn't had a chance to actually watch any of the WWE shows in quite a while so it was actually quite a pleasant experience, getting to see it magnified in high definition and the group she was surrounded by were every bit as enthusiastic as she was. They got really into it. They shouted at each other and laughed when someone did something wrong, or made a particularly strange face.

Sevina found herself joining in, letting the cheerful atmosphere take her over. Right up until the moment Mickie appeared on screen. Sevina let out a small groan and stuffed her face into her hands. Maria instantly grabbed her wrists and wrenched her hands down. Given her size, she was amazingly strong. She looked at Sevina seriously, saying very quietly. "You need to watch this. You wont get another chance at your _first _chance, so try and enjoy it. I've seen the playbacks, you were great, so quit stressing." Her voice was quite authoritative and Sevina found herself listening to her.

She tuned her gaze back to the screen just in time to see herself appear at the top of the ramp. The superstars cheered and laughed, some wolf whistled and Sevina began to relax. Maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as she thought. When she attacked Mickie, a lot of laughter rang around the room, but there was also a lot of playfully teasing comments being directed at Mickie, who was grinning and laughing with them. Why couldn't Sevina be like that? Why could she not worry about this stuff? Silence fell as Kane's music played and Sevina forced herself to watch. It seemed that the other superstars were totally riveted by what was happening on the screen and Sevina tried to look at it from an objective point-of-view. She did look absolutely and truly terrified, but that was because at the time, she _had_ been. Glen looked truly terrifying! She felt a shudder pass through her as his laugh rang out through the room.

When the section was over, a great amount of cheering went up and she felt hands raining down to pat her shoulders and back, congratulating her. She couldn't keep the grin from her face and then settled herself down to watch the rest of the show, the tension finally leaving her. At exactly that second, Live for the Moment began to play. The others looked confused until Sevina pulled her cell from her pocket. Sevina smiled apologetically and quickly ducked out of the room, before answering the call. "Hey, Matt." She was smiling and he could hear it in her voice. She leaned against the wall outside the lounge. "Hey yourself, Kid! That was awesome!" Sevina laughed and slid down into a sitting position. She ran her fingers into her hair and held them there. "You really think so?"

"Absolutely! I've never seen you look so shit up before!" Sevina wrinkled her nose at his choice of wording, but was still smiling. She was so glad to hear his voice, so glad that he didn't think she'd made a complete fool of herself. They talked for a long time and she went through the ins and outs of her performance as Matt broke it down analytically, telling her what was great about each part. At some point she got off the floor and went to her room. Finally, the conversation died down a little and Sevina bit her lip as she knew she had to ask one question. "Matt, did Jeff see the show?" There was a few moments silence and it sounded like Matt was moving around, leaving whatever place he'd been in. The next thing she knew it sounded like he was outside. "Yeah, he saw it. He watched it with me. He thought you were great, Vina."

Sevina felt herself sigh and moved a hand to rest over her eyes. Matt seemed to know that she needed a minute to organise her thoughts and he kept quiet, but his steady breathing told her he was still there. Jeff had seen the show. He'd been watching. Well, they were still friends, right? It was only polite that he would watch. After she'd convinced herself not to make more of it than it was, Sevina finally spoke again, her voice light once more. "I miss you, dude."

Matt laughed, but there was a certain tension to the sound. "I miss you too, Kid. You making friends over there?"

"Yeah, they're all really cool. Welcomed me with open arms…literally." She smiled as she thought of Maria's greeting on her first day. "Hold on, Sevina…" Sevina frowned as Matt suddenly moved away from the phone and she could hear him having a quiet conversation close by. There was a rustle before any further words came through the phone and when she heard whose voice it was her heart felt like it had stuttered to a halt in her chest. "Hey, Kid."

"Jeff.." His name fell from her lips before she could stop it and in that single word was every ounce of pain and despair she was feeling from being parted from him so completely. She fought to regain some sense of equilibrium, but his appearance on the phone was so unexpected, it left her almost gasping for air. When he spoke again, his voice sounded tight, as if he were having a similar problem. "Yeah, it's me. I just wanted to say, well done. You did great."

Sevina felt the tears on her face before she'd even realised she was crying, but she made an effort to keep them out of her voice as she wiped frantically at her eyes. "Thanks. I'm glad you think so." There was a long pause, where neither of them said anything before Jeff coughed slightly and then spoke. "Well, I should let you get back to Matt."

"I miss you." The words were out before she could catch them, just blurted into the air and she silently cursed herself for saying them out loud. Jeff sighed heavily on the other end of the phone and she could almost imagine him pinching the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb. "I miss you too, Vina. A lot. I have to go." She didn't say anything this time. That was the closest she and Jeff had come to a meaningful conversation in a long time and she was now remembering why. She felt the searing pain flash through her heart and wondered how she wasn't a wreck on the floor. Matt's voice brought her out of it and back to reality. "Hey. You okay?" His voice was full of concern and Sevina couldn't help but smile. "Yeah. I'm fine. Is Shan there?"

"Yeah, I'll grab him." Sevina lay back on her bed as she waited for Matt to retrieve her wayward boyfriend. She draped an arm over her eyes and felt herself beginning the self torture that would only lead to more pain.

_I miss you too, Vina. A lot._

**A/N If you read PLEASE review! Even if it's just to tell me what you don't like! It only takes a minute and I really apreciate it :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Shannon came to visit Sevina the following week, but only because she was in Raleigh with SmackDown. He was feeling guilty for not being at Gas Chamber as much as he should have been. Sevina understood. She didn't mind too much. She had a feeling that her relationship with Shannon was drawing to a close now that she was no longer with Matt and Jeff all the time and trying to split himself between his work and two separate travelling schedules just wouldn't work. It was alright though, Sevina had come to realise that she couldn't be in a relationship with _anyone_ right now, especially not someone who was as close to Jeff as she was. So when he came to see her, they made the decision to call it a day and part as really good friends.

Jeff was listening to Matt's half of the phone conversation when Shannon dropped this particular bombshell and only got Matt's reaction to it. He wasn't stupid though, he could guess that it was something to do with Sevina, something important. He listened a little closer.

"Are you serious? Really?….well…I guess that's cool then…you sure though, dude? She's one of a kind." Matt laughed at something Shannon had said and his eyes flicked to Jeff for a moment, before turning away again. "Yeah, I know what you mean. She's okay, right?…good. Alright Shan. Talk to you later." He hung up the phone and met the piercing green gaze of his younger brother. He folded his arms and said nothing. Jeff knew he was doing it on purpose, trying to wind him up, but his nerves were already on the edge of their ability to cope and it didn't take long before his resolve snapped. "So? What's going on?" He couldn't tell anything from Matt's conversation. For all he knew, Shannon might have proposed to her. God, please, don't let him have proposed to her. Jeff could handle a lot, but he wasn't sure he could bear that.

"They broke up." Matt's words broke into Jeff's mind with the effect of glass shattering and Jeff felt as if something inside of him had snapped as well, some string that was wrapped around his heart, holding it tightly encased, refusing to let it free. His breath left him in a long sigh and he dropped his head into his hands, feeling a certain tension leave his body. He knew it meant nothing. Just because Sevina and Shannon weren't together anymore didn't change anything. She was still miles away and she still didn't want him, but at least he didn't have to watch her choosing one of his friends over him. He didn't have to endure the sight of her and Shannon wrapped around each other.

He could feel Matt's eyes on him and he slowly lifted his head, turning his gaze enough to look at him. Matt was smirking and Jeff frowned. "What's so funny?" Had he been lying? Were they still together? Matt shrugged and leaned back in the armchair he was sat in, putting his feet up on the edge of Jeff's bed. "You. You're hilarious."

"Huh?"

"You're like a kid sometimes, Jeff. I swear it." Jeff continued to look confused so Matt sighed and leaned forward, pronouncing each of his words very slowly and carefully. "Go to Raleigh and tell her the truth!"

"You're insane." Jeff shook his head. The idea was ridiculous. What good would that do? She'd laugh at him, or hit him. He'd felt the weight of her fists before and he had no desire to repeat the experience. Last time she'd got mad at him, she'd kicked his door down, head butted John Cena and then pounded the holy hell out of him. No, he really didn't want to do anything to incur that wrath again.

"Don't you have a house show in an hour?" Matt continued to smirk in a very patronizing way, but nodded and stood up to leave. Jeff watched him go and then swore vehemently. He looked at his phone. It would be so easy to call her, so easy to tell her he was going to come and see her. She'd let him, they were friends, so it was normal that they should see each other, at least sometimes. No. No, he could be patient. Just a little while longer and he'd see her again. Not long now. He repeated those three words like they were a mantra, as if they were the only things that kept him clinging to reality.

-----

Sevina was bouncing up and down in one of the hallways. She'd been to this arena a lot when she was younger to watch SmackDown or Raw as they passed through. She'd never been on this side of the curtain though. She adjusted the earphones to her ipod in her ears and began jumping again, stretching her neck from side to side. She was nervous again, though it wasn't as severe as last time. The sound of My Chemical Romance - Thank you for the Venom was screaming in her ears. She had ten minutes before she was due for her backstage shots and then after that she was going to go straight into her match against Mickie.

She looked up as one of the approached her, waving his arms to get her attention and pointing down the hall to where the cameras were set up. She pulled her earphones out and headed after him. She flicked her hair from her eyes and then moved in front of the camera. It was a secluded part of the arena, nice and quiet. She grabbed the book that had been set out for her and sat down on the floor, back against the wall, apparently reading. The cameras started rolling moments later.

She gasped as a hand grabbed her hair and dropped her book. She tried to wrench herself free as she was dragged to her feet. She came face to face with a bare chest and her eyes slowly travelled upwards until they found Kane's face and she began struggling in earnest. Kane laughed at her, tightening his grip on her hair as both of her hands hung onto his wrist. "Shh, shh, shh. Don't get upset, Sevina. It'll hurt more if you fight me." Sevina became very still, just staring at him with pure fear in her eyes. Kane's face came very close to her own and he spoke in a deadly quiet voice. "If you don't tell them, Sevina. I am going to." Sevina tried to struggle free again, but his hand visibly tightened and she gasped. She looked to be trying to muster some courage and the words that came out would have been impressive if they didn't sound so untrue. "I'm not afraid of you!" Kane laughed again and used his free hand to trail a finger down her face. She flinched sharply. "You should be." The camera's cut then and Glen released her hair, smiling apologetically. "Did I hurt you?" Sevina smiled and shook her head, straightening out her hair. "Nope. Didn't even pull any out." He laughed and she patted his arm before jogging away. Her match was next.

She had to put some effort in to look shook up, given that her incident with Kane had aired only minutes before. She fiddled with her tape on her wrists as she went to the ring, giving none of her usual flaunts and her face was tight with concern. She stood in the ring, waiting for Mickie to appear. Her eyebrows went up as her music started, but Mickie didn't come to the ramp. She glanced over towards the ref, who was looking nonplussed, then turned her eyes back to the ramp. The crowd looked just as confused as Sevina did. Where was Mickie?

Eventually, Mickie did appear at the top of the ramp, but she wasn't alone and Sevina fell back a few steps, almost falling down as she saw Kane walking behind Mickie. The audience were on their feet, shouting unintelligible statements into the air. Mickie's eyes didn't leave Sevina's as she climbed the steps and got into the ring. Sevina was the only one who was the subtle wink as their eyes caught. Sevina immediately looked past her to Kane, just as the bell rang. Using Sevina's distraction, Mickie caught her with a cheap shot, knocking her to the mat.

She spent the next fifteen minutes being completely obliterated by the other diva. It was clear for all who watched that Kane's presence at ringside had completely thrown her off. Her reactions were slow and just weren't enough. It didn't take much for Mickie to wear her down and get the pin. Sevina just lay in the middle of the ring, breathing hard. She'd worked as a jobber, so losing matches was not something she was new to, but it had been a long time since she'd lost to anyone as energetic as Mickie. The woman had some serious skills.

When she eventually made it backstage, Mickie was full of apologies. She'd landed a move wrong and accidentally elbowed Sevina straight in the face, splitting her lip. Sevina just smiled and hugged her. "It's okay, Micks. Really. I'm alright. At least you didn't rip any of my hair out." Mickie laughed and shook her head, glad that her new friend wasn't angry at her. Sevina may not have been able to see it, but she was fitting in extremely well at SmackDown, what she did see was that she was having a damn good time. She was tired and she still missed her friends like crazy, but that was no reason for her not to make new ones.

As she was talking to Mickie, Drew McIntyre walked past. Sevina waved to Mickie, then took a running jump, landing on Drew's back. She nudged him as if he were a horse. "To the women's locker room, steed!" Drew laughed and shook his head. He looked over his shoulder at her, then headed off, with her on his back. Sevina had taken a strong liking to Drew. He was confident and cocky, but he was willing to put himself on the line to help out a friend. He'd made her feel extremely welcome and had stood at her side and introduced her to everyone. For that, she would be eternally grateful. It also helped that he didn't mind carrying her around when she decided to jump on his back for no reason at all.

He dropped her off at the locket room, with the promise that when his back gave out from all the piggyback rides, he was going to make her carry him around. Sevina saluted, laughed and then ducked inside. Right now, she wanted a hot shower and a long night's sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The next few weeks passed in a blur, Sevina was so busy she rarely had time to stop. The storyline was intense and she knew that it was about to get a whole hell of a lot worse. Two new faces were about to come into it. She knew who one of them was, but the other was still a mystery to her and some part of her was still keeping it's fingers crossed that it would be Matt. She was loving her time on SmackDown, she was getting along with everybody and was almost certain that she'd made some firm new friendships, but she missed Matt and Jeff more every day. She didn't let herself think about Jeff too much because since they'd talked on the phone, he hadn't spoken to her again and the sting of rejection felt fresh all over again. She didn't need that distracting her.

Matt was another story. She thought about him all the time. Something funny or interesting would happen and she found herself automatically turning to tell him about it, only to be greeted by the blank space where he should have been. No-one could replace their unique place in her life and as happy as she was, she wished she had one of them there to share it with.

She sat in the locker room, chewing on her thumbnail, one of her knees drawn up to her chest, her foot balancing on the edge of the bench, whilst the other rested against the floor. Tonight was a huge night. Tonight the stakes shot up and she _still_ didn't know who the spare superstar was going to be. How was she supposed to react when she didn't know. She had spoken to Coach, trying to get him to tell her, but apparently he didn't know either. His only comment had been to tell her that if no-one showed u it was because the writers hadn't found anyone and she'd just have to wing it. Well, that was perfect. What a shambles. She was going to have to complain to Vince about this. Although, keeping the secret had been fairly easy, since she genuinely had no idea what was going to happen if they hadn't found someone to fill the role.

She glanced at her watch. She had a very brief backstage shoot and then a little while to wait before her match. She stood up and wandered out, sticking in the headphones for her ipod, but not switching it on. She knew where the cameras were, so she headed down. She smiled at Glen and then at Mark who was hovering close by, looking curious. She took her cue as the cameras started rolling and walked across frame, simply wandering down the corridor, apparently listening to music. The camera moved around to the shadows behind where she had just walked and Kane's face appeared from behind a crate and then from behind him, The Undertaker's unmistakable silhouette came into view. Sevina heard the uproar from the crowd above, then sent a thumbs up in Mark and Glen's direction, before switching her music on and walking away. She needed a little space right now and they both seemed to understand that.

She was stressing. This storyline was about to hit the big time ranks and one of the key players had yet to be named. She could see it crashing down in an absolute disaster. What were the writer's expecting to happen at this point? That they would be able to just make it up as they went along? The only thing that would come from that was a very impromptu end to the storyline as the reveal would be forced way too early. How did they not realise that? Sevina cursed as she paced one of the empty corridors, jamming the heels of her hands into her eyes. Everything had been going so well. Too well. It had to break at some point. That was how it always went in the end.

She sighed and let her arms fall back to her sides. She resumed her pacing, chewing on her lip as her earphones blasted out a familiar song, but she couldn't put her finger on the name of it. Actually, that wasn't true, she knew exactly what it was, but she wasn't going to let herself dwell on it. It was a very familiar song, written by a very familiar man. Or at least, he'd once been very familiar. She knew where her mind was taking her and she stopped it dead. He was the last thing she needed to be thinking about at the moment. Thinking about him would just make things so much worse.

Time, as it inevitably does when you're facing something you don't want to arrive, went extremely quickly and before she could blink, she found herself stood behind the curtain. Over the last weeks she had started standing up to Kane, trying not to be intimidated as he continued to haunt her steps, issuing threat after threat, telling her that she was running out of time and he was going to have to force her confession. The fans still had no idea what this confession involved, let alone what it was.

Her match tonight was against Michelle McCool. Sevina and Michelle hadn't exactly hit it off. It wasn't that they disliked each other, they just had no common ground and no way to associate with each other. Their relationship had only gotten as far as awkward smiles and mutual respect. They didn't really socialise but always tried to be pleasant when they saw one another. Sevina was a little nervous about facing her, having never been on the opposite side of the ring to her before, but they were both professionals and she had faith in Michelle's and her own abilities.

Her music hit after Michelle's and she took a deep breath before heading out. She did her usual entrance to the ring and then stood across from Michelle as the bell sounded. The match turned out to be pretty even. Michelle was good, but so was Sevina. It was quite technical for a divas match and the fans certainly got more from it than they expected. It ended when Sevina made Michelle tap out with a front face-lock. She felt the ref raising her hand, barely bale to remember the match, it had gone so quickly. Her mind was entirely focused on what she knew was going to happen next. She grinned around at the fans, raising both her arms and celebrating in the ring.

The lights suddenly cut out and the fans freaked. Some of them seemed to pick up on what was happening, whilst others remained confused. The only noise came from them and about thirty seconds later the unmistakable sound of slow gong strikes rang through the space, making the entire building seem to tremble. Sevina shifted restlessly in the ring, looking around wildly, before fixing her eyes on the ramp. Smoke began to filter across it and it could only be the signal for one man to enter, but he never appeared. Minutes passed in silence after the gongs had stopped and still nothing. The fans began to murmur with disappointment, when suddenly the four corner posts of the ring exploded with fire and the pyros near the stage started going off. Slow Chemical started playing and the lights came back up. When they did, both Kane and The Undertaker were in the ring and no-one had any idea how they had gotten there. They were stood at opposite corners, both facing Sevina who was in the middle. She turned rapidly between the two, her eyes wide and panicked. She looked like a deer in headlights, knowing there was no escape.

Inside, Sevina was really and truly worried at this point. This was the cue for the next superstar to enter, but no-one came and in the back of her mind, she knew that no-one would be. The writers had screwed up. If she hadn't known Glen so well by now, she would never have seen the flicker of doubt cross his face and the similar expression with briefly imposed on Mark's. It lasted less than half a second and they all came to the silent understanding that they had to make this work somehow.

The crowd were making a deafening amount of noise. No-one had seen these two pair up in a very long time and the shock was clear, as was the elation. Things were getting good. Sevina was trapped between them as they began bearing down upon her. Kane came a little faster and Sevina tried to back away from him, but tripped over her own feet and landed on her butt. She stared up at the two monsters that now towered over her. One hand was bracing her from behind, ready to retreat and the other was raised above, pleading with them. She was all but begging them not to do anything, not to hurt her. They weren't listening. They both wore identical masks of malice and were very clearly intent on forcing her confession from her one way or another.

Without warning, without even a second of suggestion, music began to pump out of the speakers and the titantron threw up a new superstar's video. The crowd were going berserk. Sevina had never heard something so loud and she turned her eyes to the new arrival. If her eyes had gotten any wider they'd have fallen out, her mouth was hanging slightly open and she felt as if she were going to have a stroke…


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Did you guess? I bet you did :D Please review!**

Sevina was barely aware of her surroundings, all she knew was that she was feeling very, very faint. She was still on the mat and Kane and Undertaker were still towering over her, but their eyes weren't on her now, their eyes were on the man at the top of the ramp, the man that the crowd were screaming for. He hesitated for only a moment before taking off running towards the ring. As he jumped in, Kane and the Undertaker both jumped out. He was only one man and they could easily take him down, but that wasn't how this was supposed to go. They didn't want it like that. They retreated up the ramp, both continuing to glare at the superstar who was glaring right back at them, stood defensively over Sevina's cowering form. When they were at a safe distance, he turned and held a hand out to her.

She just stared at him for a long time, taking in the features that were so familiar to her, but that she had been missing so much lately. She reached up and took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet. She then threw her arms around him, hugging him fiercely, her hands tangling in his long hair. She buried her face in his neck, taking in his familiar scent. He murmured gently in her ear, but she didn't hear the words, she just clung to him. "Jeff…Jeff…" She repeated his name over and over as if he might suddenly disappear if she didn't. She pulled away suddenly, but her hands were still clasped to his face, for the moment oblivious to the crowd watching them. "What are you _doing_ here?" Jeff looked at her with a serious expression and she wasn't sure who he was right now. Was he her friend or was he the performer? "I missed you." The words were spoken in a very intense voice, but quiet enough for the microphones not to pick them up. He then put an arm over her shoulders and led her out of the ring. She remembered herself enough to look distressed and shaken, which she undoubtedly was. As soon as they got backstage, he dropped his arm from around her and went to shake hands with Mark and Glen. Sevina watched him, not even blinking for fear that if she did, he'd vanish. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively as the exhilaration of seeing him began to wear off.

Just because he was here did not mean things had changed. He was working for the WWE again, that much was clear. That was the only reason he was here. Vince must have picked up on their friendship before it went wrong and decided to throw him into this storyline. How long had the chairman been planning this?

Sevina waited, watching as the three men talked and it soon became apparent that she had been forgotten. That hurt. A hell of a lot more than she had thought possible. Jeff came back and of course he drew everyone's attention. How could he not? There was something about Jeff that made you want to pay attention to him. She was used to paling to nothing next to him, but she hadn't expected it this time. She felt her breath catch in her throat and knew she had to move before she made a complete idiot of herself. She half stumbled back to the women's locker room, ignoring the concerned looks she was getting since she was half way to hyper ventilating and very obviously distressed. She was thankful that there was no-one there when she finally reached her destination. She walked into one of the shower cubicles and turned the water on. She slid to the floor, still fully clothed and curled into a ball as the water cascaded over her.

Being away from Jeff had allowed some of the damage to heal, enough that she had idealised him in her mind, making herself sure that when she saw him again things would better, that she would be better. It was the only way she could think of him, with some faint glimmer of hope that all was not lost. She knew now that she'd been kidding herself. Jeff didn't care. He didn't want her around, it was as simple as that. As that thought crashed into her mind, she felt the grief and despair envelope her, taking her under and dragging wretched sobs from her body. Whatever flame of happiness she'd been holding onto, flickered and died. She found herself right back where she had started.

Maria found her there, shocked to see the state she had worked herself into. She quickly shut off the water and grabbed as many towels as she could. Sevina was completely silent as her friend helped her to change into her jeans and t-shirt. She then sat her down on the bench in the locker room and forced her to talk. Sevina didn't want to and she resisted. She felt numb and hollow, empty of all the fire which had been keeping her going, but Maria was stubborn. She liked Sevina, she was strong and talented and she fought through the hard times no matter how scared she was. She wasn't going to sit back and watch her hurting.

Eventually, after some shouting, some kicking things and a lot of tears, Sevina started talking. Maria knew Jeff so that made it easier to explain some of the things that had happened. Bit by bit, it all came out, the whole story. How Sevina and Jeff had been such close friends, as close as family, forever helping each other and laughing with each other. She then told Maria about how she had hurt her back, pulling Jeff off a roof in Chicago and that's when things had started to change. She explained it all. How he didn't talk to her anymore, the fights he'd had with John (who Maria was also quite familiar with), the time she'd bust his hotel door and attacked him, the night he'd left her in the parking lot in the pouring rain after telling her to let him go and how she'd then realised how much she really loved him. As she reached the part of telling Maria about the night of Matt's party, when they had both called the truce that would effectively end their friendship, she broke down again. Reliving it was painful, especially now.

Maria was very patient as she listened. She didn't interrupt, except to confirm that she knew both Jeff and John. For a long time after Sevina had talked herself into silence, Maria said nothing. She put an arm around her friend's shoulders and frowned into space. None of that sounded like the Jeff she knew. Or at least, it didn't sound like the _side _of Jeff that she knew. She was well aware that he was a complicated creature. Maria may not have been known publicly for her brains, but she wasn't stupid. It didn't take her long to figure out what was really behind Jeff's actions, but she didn't say it. She knew it wouldn't help. If Sevina couldn't come to that conclusion herself, then nothing Maria said would convince her.

When Sevina had cried herself out. Maria took her back to the hotel and made sure she was settled in her room. She offered to stay with her, but Sevina declined. She needed to be alone, she needed to think. As soon as the door closed and she knew she was alone, Sevina fell onto the bed and put her hands over her face.

_Why didn't you tell me, Matt? Why didn't you warn me?_

The older Hardy had to have known what was going on or at the very least, guessed it when he found out that Jeff was flying to the exact same place where SmackDown was shooting. The shock was starting wear off now, though the pain didn't subside, and a new realisation was setting in. If Jeff was back and he was involved in her storyline… she moved suddenly, reaching off the edge of the bed for her suitcase and wrenching her script from it. Her eyes raked the pages until she found what she was dreading. She was going to be spend a great deal of time with her 'best friend'. The knowledge nearly sent her into another spiral of panic, but she held herself together. Before she'd moved to SmackDown she had been around Jeff almost every day. Alright, so it was just them now, no Matt or Shannon to stand in the middle, but it was the same basic principle. She could do this. She _could. _She had to. She had to show him that she wasn't weak. She wasn't going to fall apart this time. She wasn't going to be the victim.


	9. Chapter 9

Jeff was surprised at himself and not in a good way. This was not how he had planned this. He had had every intention of taking her somewhere quiet after his entrance and telling her everything, the whole truth, but as they'd come through the curtain something had twisted in his head and the anxiety, the possibility of rejection had taken hold of him and instead of doing what he'd planned all along, he'd turned to Glen and Mark. He had stood talking to them for the longest time, not noticing as Sevina slipped away. He had been determinedly keeping her from his line of sight, so it was a shock when he turned and found her gone. But then, what had he expected? That she would stand around and wait, whilst he blatantly ignored her?

With a sigh, he headed to the locker room to grab his things. The drive to the hotel was long and arduous. He was frustrated with himself, frustrated with everything. He had come here to put things right, to make them how they should have been. He had screwed it up. Again. Would she forgive him this time? Would she give him the time to explain before she shut the door in his face? His hands twisted anxiously on the steering wheel as he approached the large hotel and turned into the parking lot. His heartbeat felt like a requiem march, taking him to some well deserved punishment. He hated how dramatic and important each little moment had become. His life with Sevina had been so simple. There were no questions, no problems, they had been perfect.

His mind flashed back to the day on the roof, when he had looked up at her, watching as she strained to pull him back from what had been sure to be a horrible accident. He remembered the clear pain in her features, but at the same time, he had been so aware of his own thoughts. This crazy woman, this insane creature was putting her body, her safety on the line, to pull him back. He had messed up time and time again, disappointed her and everyone else who loved him and yet here she was, saving his life, saving his body from his own stupidity.

That was when things had started to go wrong in his head, things had started to crack. The illusions and safety barriers he had subconsciously put up, began to crumble down. He could remember it all so clearly, as if he were reliving it. He saw himself through her eyes, he saw how he appeared to her, so much better than he was, so much stronger. Not worthless, not a screw up. She saw him as someone to be admired, someone to be looked up to and depended on and he would only continue to destroy each pedestal that she put him on.

That was when the first break had happened, but it had been fixable and things would have been fine, they'd have corrected themselves. When he'd come out of the shower to find both Sevina and his brother gone from the hotel room, he'd been confused but not concerned. When he'd gone through the door to see her on the floor, curled up in pain, time had stopped.

"_What the hell happened?!" Jeff looked at his brother, completely horror struck by what was happening. Matt was crouched on the floor beside Sevina, a hand on her side, the other braced behind her back. He was looking bewildered and more than a little frightened. "I don't know. Her back just seemed to give out." Jeff's world felt like it was spinning out of control, in an unstoppable downward spiral. He had caused this. She was in pain because of him. What if it was serious? What if it ended her career? What if it meant she could never walk again?_

_The more he thought about it, the worse it became and as he and Matt stood back to let the doctor work, he was almost hyperventilating. When Sevina screamed, he felt it like a physical blow. He lifted his hands and covered his face, unable to endure the sight, but he couldn't get away from the sound. He could imagine his friend writhing in pain, even if he couldn't see her. His fault. This was his fault. He'd gone too far this time and now someone was really hurt because of him. Not just someone. Sevina. She was more than just someone. Just anybody. She was everybody. She was everything._

_That was the moment it had started to sink in. The truth. The words that he could never say to her. The drive to the hospital had concreted the knowledge. Sevina was his best friend and he was utterly in love with her. When the hell had that happened?!_

_The wait in the hospital was worse, his mind slowly ticking over, coming to the only conclusion that it could. He had to stay away from her. If he loved her, he had to leave her alone. If he kept hanging onto her, if he stayed in her life, she was only going to get hurt, over and over again. When the doctor told them that she was going to be alright, the relief was a physical thing, his entire body relaxed, but his mind continued it's doomed journey. She was alright this time, but what about the next time? What happened when she tried to pull him back another time, or put herself in front of him, between him and harm? How many times would she get hurt if he continued to selfishly hold her to him? He couldn't justify their friendship and he knew he had to end it, somehow. One way or another, he had to cut himself out of her life._

_He had felt like he was walking death row when he and Matt had headed to her room and the sight of her, in a medicated sleep had solidified his decision. "I'm gonna go get some coffee. You want some?" The excuse was lame, but he had to get out. He had to get out now or he never would. He had turned and fled down the corridor, fled from the building in fact. When he had reached the parking lot, he'd found a quiet corner and thrown up. He hated what he had become, what he had to do. He hated that he had to love her, but more than that, he hated that he had to leave her, let her go._

_If you love someone, let them go…_

Back in the present, Jeff unlocked his hotel room and so didn't see the bundle of beautiful brunette hurtling down the corridor towards him. He was only aware of Maria's presence when she reached up her tiny hand and slapped him a stinging blow across the face. He swore and staggered backwards, hitting his door and falling into his room. He landed on his back, a hand raised to his cheek. His eyes were shut. He squeezed one of them open and peered up at the enraged woman. "Maria?" His voice came out a little hoarse. He sat up and shook himself, but his face was still stinging from her blow. Damn, she was powerful for a person her size. She was like a really small tornado and she was glaring right at him. "What did I do?"

He slowly raised himself to his feet, throwing his keys onto the bed, before looking at Maria again. She was still glaring at him. She folded her arms under her chest and her eyes looked so intensely into his, he felt like squirming. "What did you do?! What did you do?!" Jeff backed up hastily as she advanced on him, in case she decided to slap him again. He'd never seen Maria mad before, it was terrifying. "I'll tell you what you did, shall I, Jeffrey Hardy?!" Jeff's eyebrows shot up and he nodded. "Please do." The remark got him a whole new type of glare and he sat meekly on the edge of his bed, saying nothing more, lest he incur more of the explosive diva's wrath.

Maria advanced again, standing over him furiously. "I just had to pick Sevina up off the floor at the arena because of you! I had to bring her back here, because of you! She was having a total breakdown…guess why? _Because of you!"_ Maria's voice turned to a high-pitched screech and Jeff winced, but the words hit him hard. Sevina was hurting because of him. _Again._ He dropped his head into his hands, for the moment completely forgetting Maria's presence. The little diva watched him, concern overtaking her anger. She sat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Jeffy? Sevina told me what happened with you guys. She thinks you don't want her around."

Jeff shook his head, not removing it from his hands and Maria sighed. She grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked it. He let out a slight cry of pain as his head was forced up. He looked at her incredulously. What the hell? This woman was crazy! She smiled at him in an almost threatening way. "Jeffy. Listen to me. You have to tell her the truth!"

"I was going to! That's why I took this stupid job."

"So then, why didn't you?"

"Because I'm a coward, that's why." Maria hated how defeated his voice sounded, so she slapped him again. It was the last thing Jeff was expecting and she knew it. She then shook her head in an exasperated way, before standing up and leaving him alone. Jeff stared after her in total shock. "Okay….that was just weird…and painful." He muttered to himself, rubbing his smarting cheek.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N I know the end of the last chapter was random, but I love Maria and I love the idea of her being the one to 'slap' some sense into Jeff =D**

Jeff hovered outside of Sevina's hotel room, smoothing down his wrinkled t-shirt. Should he have dressed better for this? He looked down at his faded jeans, with holes at the knees, his worn out sneakers and his messed up Hardy Boys t-shirt. Then he shook himself. Sevina had never cared how he dressed. Why would she care now? He'd be grateful at this point, if he managed to convince her not to slam the door in his face. He took a deep breath and lifted his hand, hesitating before he knocked three times.

Sevina had been laid on her bed. She was dressed in baggy sweat pants and a Hardy Boys t-shirt, that exactly matched Jeff's, though she had been totally unaware of this. She had the remote control for the t.v and was flicking aimlessly through the channels, not paying attention to what was on. She jumped when she heard the knocks on the door, but figured it had to be Maria. If she'd paid more attention, she'd had realised that they were way too hard and high up to have been the other woman. She dropped the control and sat up, shoving her hair from her face. "Come in, it's open!"

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and rubbed her hands down her face. She heard the door open and lifted her head. She froze, shock running through her body. Why?! Why did he have to come here?! For the moment, the surprise and anger were keeping the pain at bay. For the moment. She frowned at him when she regained control of her face and folded her arms. "What are you doing here?"

Jeff shuffled into the room a little nervously. The look on her face was definitely not friendly and he really didn't want to get a third slap. Though, he knew from experience that Sevina didn't slap, as a general rule, she gave you a full-on knuckle sandwich. " I uh…want to apologise for not catching you at the arena before you left." _Good start Hardy._ Jeff mentally slapped the annoying voice in his head, then returned his attention to Sevina, who was now avoiding his gaze. She looked…angry? It was only now that Jeff was getting an inkling of just how far he had pushed her ability to cope. "Fine. We done?" The words echoed through Jeff's head, taking him straight back to the last time she'd said that to him. The night after he'd kissed her. Possibly the stupidest move he'd ever made and yet, one he didn't regret. Not even for a moment. He had dealt with it really badly then, he was trying not to make the same mistake again.

His voice was gentle as he took a few steps towards her, but left enough distance for her to still feel secure in her personal space. "No. We're not done. I need to talk to you." She surprised him by shooting to her feet. She brushed past him. He thought she was going to walk out, but instead, she slammed the door shut. He frowned as he watched her. The shutting door had revealed a pile of shoes, which she was now rooting around in. "Sevina?" She ignored him. He approached her and grabbed her arm, forcing her to straighten up and looked at him. "Hey. Talk to me."

Sevina tried to pull her arm free, but he would let her. Her eyes, until now had been fixed on his chest, but they flicked bravely to his face, knowing how much it would hurt her later when she remembered it. His eyes were warm, worried and so familiar. She scowled at him. She couldn't do this anymore. She couldn't learn to let him go, just to let him pull her back when he felt like it. "I have nothing to say to you, Jeff." Her voice sounded numb, hollow, just how she felt. She saw Jeff's eyebrows come together in a frown, but he still didn't let go of her arm. "Then let me do the talking." Sevina shook her head in an almost desperate way. His voice was so gentle and it was weaving a spell over her, making her want to give in to him, to give him what he wanted, but she couldn't. She couldn't do this anymore!

With a final, desperate pull she managed to free her arm from his grasp. She grabbed the sneakers she was looking for and returned to the bed to put them on. She focused her eyes on them and spoke in a hurried tone. She had to finish this, she had to get away from him before he could hurt her anymore. "I don't want to hear it right now. I need space."

Jeff watched her, confused. Her face had turned even whiter than usual and he could swear he had seen tears in her eyes. Her hands were shaking as they fumbled over the laces to her sneakers. Had he hurt her that bad? Was he too late? There had to be something. Some way he could make her wait and listen to him. "Please, Sevina. Just listen to me."

"No!" The answer was immediate and she looked scared now. She was looking at him with terror in her eyes. She couldn't stand this. She couldn't bear to be near him. Jeff felt staggered. She had never looked at him like that. Not with such a frightened gaze, as if he were about to destroy her. Was that what he had been doing? He frowned. He couldn't give up. She had to listen. She needed to understand. It would all be alright if she would just listen. Before he knew what was happening, she had passed him again, this time she was leaving. He moved quickly, grabbing her arm again as she passed the threshold of the room. "Please, wait!"

She pulled frantically against his hold, her eyes wide. "Jeff, let me go!" His grip became slack all of a sudden as she threw his own words at him, but twisted and changed enough to hurt him. She turned from him then and ran. She flew down the stairs, almost falling and across the lobby. She made it out to the street and sucked in a great lungful of air. She was shaking from head to foot as she ran through the parking lot until she found her rental car. She almost wrenched the door off in her desperation. She had to get away from here. She had to get away from him. She pulled out far too fast and took off down the road at high speed.

She didn't know that Jeff had been right behind her. He got into his own car and followed her. He had to make her listen, that was the only thought in his mind. Maybe if he could get her in the open, somewhere that there wasn't the work pressure and so many listening ears. He roared out of the lot after her, but was two cars behind. From there he witnessed the most terrifying moment of his life.

Sevina ran a hand down her face, trying to blink the tears from her eyes. She knew she was going too fast, but it was a two lane road and cars were pulling out so that she could pass. She swore repeatedly, trying to calm the tremors that were running through her like an electric current. She didn't see the SUV until it was too late. It was travelling only a fraction slower than herself and had not pulled out for her to pass. Her eyes widened as she realised that she was going to hit it. Her own car was much smaller and more breakable. She felt the impact and rather than everything seeming to slow down, it went twice as fast. She heard the loud bang, like an explosion. Screeching as the metal hit metal, like nails down a chalkboard. Felt her own car crumple and fly through the air. She rolled, once, twice. Glass shattered. It rained down over her. She was aware of the smell of gasoline and smoke. She could taste blood and she could see nothing. The car was on it's roof and then everything went black and she saw, felt and heard no more.


	11. Chapter 11

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. The slow, regular sound invaded the quiet, rousing the consciousness of the woman who didn't know she was asleep.

Waking up was a slow and painful process. Sevina was instantly aware of the pounding pain in her head. She felt as if it had grown to five times it's usual size and was throbbing in time with her heart beat, in time with the beeping monitor, which sounded too close, too loud. Slowly, she forced her eyes open. All she saw was white, blindingly bright. She shut her eyes again, opening them a few seconds later. As the world came into focus, she realised it wasn't a bright light, but the sterile, white walls of a hospital room. Her eyes then flicked automatically to the side. Her vision was a little blurry, but she could make out the form of Jeff. He was sat in the chair beside her bed, asleep. He had his arms folded and his legs crossed at the ankle. His head was hanging to one side, his mouth slightly open. He looked extremely uncomfortable.

Confusion. What had happened? Why was she here? Even as the questions entered her mind, her brain through up flashes, disjointed and terrifying images of what had happened. She gasped as she was forced to relive the accident and she shut her eyes again, trying to still the images. As they faded and her awareness returned, she began the slow and anxious process of figuring out the damage. She wriggled her toes tentatively and was relieved to find that it wasn't painful. Next she moved her feet slowly back and forth, testing her ankles. Still no pain. So far do good. She tensed the muscles in her claves and bent her knees slightly. Well, at least she could still use her legs. They ached, but it was bearable. She shifted her hips, it was uncomfortable, but not painful. She twisted slightly to check her ribs, they also ached, but there seemed to be no major damage. Her fingers moved alright, but as she tested her lower arms, she became aware that her right forearm felt extremely tight, moving it was difficult. It was a little painful as well, but the residing awareness was that it was throbbing and felt as if something were wrapped very tightly around it.

She moved on, focusing on her shoulders and then hesitantly, her neck. She let out a sigh of relief when she found that she could move it without pain. She began to move her jaw, tensing the muscles and screwing up her nose, but stopped almost immediately. The movements themselves didn't hurt, but they sent shooting pains through her head. Her eyes fell closed again, as if this might relieve the intense pressure. It didn't. As a way to distract herself, she lifted her right arm and looked at it, seeing that it was wrapped very tightly in a stretchy bandage. She twisted her wrist a little. It hurt, but not badly. More like a sprain than a break.

She heard a groan to her right and turned her face slowly, to see Jeff stirring in the seat. He was unaware for the moment that she was awake. He stretched, trying to ease off the aches from sleeping in such an uncomfortable position. He checked his phone and saw that he had a new message from Matt. He opened it, frowning slightly.

_Flying out today. Called Vic. Meeting him at the airport. Are u ok?_

_M x_

He didn't bother replying. There were no words to describe how he was feeling, but he knew that 'okay' wasn't even close. He flicked his eyes to Sevina and almost had a heart attack when he realised she was awake. He froze in place for a moment before standing up. He walked to the edge of the bed and then sat down. He figured she was in no state to hit him. He looked at her silently for a long moment before speaking. "How are you feeling?"

Sevina frowned a little, but stopped when the creasing of her facial muscles sent more pain through her head. His voice alone had been like a hammer blow. "Sore." It was the only reply she could manage. Her voice came out sounding weak and hoarse. How long had she been here? As if Jeff knew what she was thinking, he said; "You've been out for about thirty hours. You got off quite lucky. Sprained wrist. Concussion. A few scrapes and bruises, but no major damage." Sevina closed her eyes for a moment, letting out a long sigh. She thought back over the accident and her eyes snapped over again. "The other car?" She dreaded asking the question. What if her stupidity had gotten someone else killed? What if there had been kids in that car?

"They're alright. The man and his wife weren't hurt. You barely damaged their car actually." Sevina felt faint from relief. At least, until Jeff spoke again. "Matt's flying out today and…he's bringing your dad." Jeff's voice was anxious and with good reason. Sevina and her father did not get along and hadn't for a lot of years. Victor Ataera hated the path Sevina had chosen with her life, he hated that she had not fallen into line with the rest of her family. Her oldest brother was a lawyer, her second oldest was a politician. Her older sister was a banker and her younger brother was a teacher. All very conventional. Victor had encouraged his other children and had tried to force Sevina into the same sort of lifestyle. Victor was a retired army officer and thought that all of his children should take up 'real' careers, with security and stability. Sevina was the bad egg, far too much like her free spirited mother to adhere to her father's wishes. Sevina's mother had run out when her younger brother, Michael had been only a few months old. They had not seen or heard from her since. All that she had left behind was a note, explaining that this was never the life she had wanted and that she needed freedom and change. She didn't want to be chained down.

Victor had moved them to Raleigh not long after and Sevina had spent those first few years hating her mother, hating what she had done. She was an exceptionally angry child, growing up with the all-American family who felt it was unbecoming for a child to aspire to be more than they were. In an effort to curb his daughter's increasingly outlandish behaviour, Victor had then uprooted them to Cameron when Sevina was sixteen. It was a quiet place and he had hoped that here she would settle and find her niche, fit in with the other kids. What he didn't know was that Cameron was like a holy ground for wrestlers and home to the Hardy brothers. Sevina had begun sneaking out of the house to go to Omega, the wrestling company that Matt and Jeff had set up., which she had heard about from some of the kids in her school That was how she had met Matt and ultimately, Jeff. Victor liked Matt and Jeff, as much as he could like anyone, but he disapproved of them letting Sevina become involved in their world. He felt that sport was the territory of men and woman had no place getting involved.

Sevina had moved out of his house when she was eighteen. She'd stayed with Matt for a few months and then got a place of her own. Her family had moved up to the state of Washington on the Olympic Peninsula. They barely spoke. When Sevina had called to tell her father that she'd made it into the WWE, it had resulted in a huge argument, which ended in him hanging up the phone on her.

So, Jeff's revelation that her father was flying out to see her was not a welcome one. She bit down on her lip to hide the distress in her face, but Jeff saw it. He sighed and took her left hand gently. "It will be alright, Sevina. I'm sure he just wants to know that you're okay." Sevina let out a laugh that wasn't quite a laugh, there was certainly no humour in it. She winced as it sent a shot of pain up to her brain. "I'll go get a nurse." Jeff made to stand up, but Sevina kept hold of his hand with the little strength she had. She shook her head fractionally, when he looked at her with a questioning gaze. "Could you just…get me some water?" He nodded and moved to the cabinet beside the bed, where a jug of ice water and a glass was already position. He poured her a glass, then helped her to sit up. He handed her the glass, but it almost slipped from her unsteady fingers, so he took it back. He gently placed a hand under her chin and held the glass to her lips with the other.

When she was done he set the glass down again. She had her eyes closed, so he was free to look at her. There was a nasty graze on her forehead and her bottom lip was puffy and split. Her eyes had dark circles around them and he could clearly see another graze on the side of her neck. The marks stood out harshly against her pale skin and Jeff felt guilty all over again. This was why he had cut himself away from her to begin with. As long as he was around, she would keep getting hurt, but here he was, getting too close again, risking her safety over and over because he was too selfish to cut the ties completely. "Sevina, I'm so sorry." Her eyes opened and she frowned at him. He was apologising? Her mind cast back, further than the accident, back to the initial cause of it and she understood. He'd been behaving like an ass, but then, she hadn't been much better. She'd been so wrapped up in her own thoughts, in her own despair that she hadn't stopped to think about what she was doing. "Don't be. Wasn't your fault." She wished her voice was stronger, that she could reassure him and yet some part of her didn't care. Some part of her wanted to keep it like that so that he would stay. As long as she in here, as long as he felt guilty, he would stay. It was an awful basis for the difficulties between them to temporarily halt, but it was all she had.

"Wasn't it?" Jeff sighed and looked away from her, running his fingers through his hair. It was only now that Sevina noticed he had dyed it again. It was now the darkest black she had ever seen. It was startling. She couldn't remember ever seeing him with totally black hair before. She wanted to ask why he'd done that, but she had a feeling she wouldn't like the answer.

She pushed herself up into a more comfortable position, ignoring Jeff's hands suddenly fluttering close by as if to help her. She also ignored the look of concern on his face. She didn't need to see that right now. She needed to get her head clear because she knew that as soon as she was released from hospital she would have to let him go again and she had to somehow prepare herself for that. Right now it seemed like an impossible task. All she wanted to do was ask him to put his arms around her and hold onto her tight, like he had so many times in the past. She wanted to ask him to tell her one of his ridiculous, impossibly imaginative stories, that never failed to make her laugh.

Jeff watched her anxiously. He wanted to help her, wanted to hug her and talk to her, tell her how sorry he was, tell her the _truth_, but more than ever now, he knew that that was impossible. He couldn't do that to her. She had been having a great life without him and he'd only been back a day and had messed it all up again. As Sevina lifted her left hand to rub her eyes, he saw something on the inside of her wrist. Without thinking he reached out and gently took hold of her arm, turning it so he could see. "You got a new tattoo?"

Sevina was slightly alarmed when he took hold of her arm. She hadn't told him or Matt about the new tattoo and she cringed slightly as she saw him mouthing the words that were now written on the inside of her wrist. His eyes flashed to hers and she could have sworn she saw the friend he had once been written in their depths, only more, fuller somehow. "Immune to fear." Sevina nodded slowly. It had been one of his catchphrases. It had been on his shirt when he'd faced Matt at Wrestlemania Twenty-five. Jeff ran his thumb over the finely written words and Sevina suppressed a shudder. "When did you get this?" Sevina took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart and willing her voice not to choke in her throat. "Shannon did it the day we broke up…" Shannon had known why she had asked for it before he'd come to see her. He knew everything and he had gladly obliged. Normally he only tattooed under Shane's watchful eye, but he felt quite confident in doing the small tattoo for Sevina and it had only take him fifteen minutes to perfectly inscribe the words into her skin.

Jeff stared at the words, feeling his heart contract. After everything, everything they'd been through, everything he'd done to hurt her, she still cared. She had to or she wouldn't have gotten that tattoo. Jeff looked at her, searching her face. She lowered her gaze, but he wasn't going to allow that. He moved the hand that wasn't holding her wrist, to under her chin, lifting her head up. She frowned at him and they were both silent. They both felt the tension in the room shift and the same thought crossed both their mind's simultaneously.

_Is it possible…?_

"Sevina…" Her name fell from his lips like a caress and his found himself inexplicably close to her, his mouth inches from her own. He saw her eyes fall closed and he could feel her warm breath hitting his lips. His own eyes closed and then he felt the electric shock of his mouth just grazing hers.

At that exact moment, there was a loud knock on the door.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N Well….that was tense, eh? Will Sevina and Jeff EVER tell each other the truth? Will we ever find out why Matt knew about her transfer before she did? What is the confession Kane and the Undertaker are trying to get out of her on-screen? Will Maria slap more people? Stay tuned and review to find out! =D**

**Thanks to I Luv Hardy for your continuing support and thanks to Carla a.k.a Anis C-bear for the encouragement!**

Jeff moved swiftly away from Sevina and she moved back just as quickly, as though both of them had received a sudden shock. They looked towards the door as it opened, permitting entry to a very concerned and slightly harassed looking Matt, but Sevina's eyes were looking beyond him to the altogether more intimidating figure hovering in the doorway. Victor Ataera was dressed very sharply in a tailored suit, holding himself rigidly upright as he fixed his daughter with his signature glare. Sevina held in a groan at the sight of him, only the monitor beside her gave an indicated to her anxiety as the consistent beeps sped up a little. They hadn't slowed down in fact, since Jeff had taken hold of her arm.

"Hi dad." Her voice clearly communicated her nerves as seeing her father. Victor said nothing as Matt suddenly swooped down over her and planted a kiss on her aching forehead. "You alright, Kid?" Sevina smiled patiently and nodded, the movement caused the pain in her head to give a nasty throb and she winced a little. "I'll survive." Matt then looked at his brother, who was staring at the wall. He grabbed Jeff's arm and hauled him to his feet. "We'll give you a few minutes with your dad." He grimaced at her, not allowing Victor to see it and then dragged his dazed brother from the door. When the door shut behind them, Sevina looked at her father and he looked right back at her. She felt uncomfortable under the intensity of his gaze and watched his slow progress across the room to sit in the chair beside her bed. "Your brothers and sister send their love. This is from them." He held out a card. Sevina took it with trembling fingers and busied herself opening it. She couldn't help but smile as she read it. Her siblings were as conventional as their father, but had always supported Sevina's decisions, encouraging her to follow her dream.

She set it carefully on the table beside the bed and then looked at her father again. He was frowning at her. "What did the doctors say?" Sevina frowned a little and moved into a more comfortable position, not liking to look weak and helpless in front of her intimidating parent. "Um…I'll be okay. Concussion and a sprained wrist." Victor nodded and folded his arms, leaning back in the chair slightly. "Are the police involved?"

"What? No. Dad, it was an accident."

"And the people in the other car?"

"They're fine. No injuries." They both fell silent. Sevina should have expected this really. Her father had never been exactly forthcoming with paternal affection. His next statement came as a total shock and was nearly enough to cause her to pass out again. "I saw you on t.v last week. I don't like that man who's following you around."

Sevina stared at him as if he had sprouted another head. Victor Ataera had watched SmackDown? Was this real? Who was he and what had he done with her real father? She tried to formulate an answer, knowing it would not be helpful to just sit and stare at him like an idiot. "Uh, you mean Glen? He's okay. Kane's just his character. He's actually a really nice guy." Victor did not look convinced. He had never really understood how things worked in the wrestling world. There was a very uncomfortable silence and Sevina knew that he was building himself up to something. She had seen it before. She'd seen the expression in his navy eyes that meant he was struggling with himself, trying to force something out of him. "You seem to be doing quite well. Is the money good?" Now Sevina really did almost pass out. To anyone else, this wouldn't have been very significant, but she knew that it was a huge step for her dad.

It was his way of telling her that he accepted what she was doing. It was almost him telling her he was proud, but she suspected he would never be that. Still, his acceptance was worth nearly as much as his approval. She nodded slowly, determined not to break the moment of generosity by making a big deal out of it. "It's decent. I mean, I'm quite well paid now. It depends on how things go really. The higher in the ranks, the bigger the payment." She didn't like talking about money. She didn't feel comfortable with it, knowing she had more success and wealth than her 'sensible' siblings by doing something that their father didn't like.

The conversation continued to be difficult, but it was the closest they had come to being on amicable terms for years. It was just a shame that it had taken Sevina being in hospital for it to happen. Matt and Jeff returned after about thirty minutes, peeking into the room nervously. Jeff had a rather downcast, slightly anxious expression and Matt was looking decidedly cheerful. Sevina lifted an eyebrow at him, but he just grinned at her. "The doctor's coming." Sevina didn't know why he sounded so happy about that. She lifted her head when the doctor walked into the room. He was young and rather attractive in an obvious sort of way. He smiled bracingly at Sevina and gently probed her head, apologising as she swore and winced, much to the disapproval of her father.

Matt sat down on the end of her bed, eating a bag of skittles. Sevina glared at him, but he continued to grin. The doctor finally moved away from her and smiled again. "Well, Miss Ataera, you were extremely lucky. Given the scale of the crash, you could have been very seriously injured, if not killed, but it seems that the big man upstairs likes you. Your wrist will take a couple of weeks to sort itself out, don't force it, gentle exercise only. As for your concussion, it's already on it's way out, but again, you'll need to take it easy. No matches for three weeks."

"Three weeks?! I'm in a huge storyline, I can't just skip out on it!" Sevina looked at him with an outraged expression, wincing as her own voice caused her headache to flare up again. The doctor looked quite amused. "With the painkillers in your system, you wouldn't be allowed to anyway." He shrugged and Sevina had the urge to throw something at him. She actually looked around for anything within reach. Seeming to sense the impending danger, the doctor stepped back. "However, I can discharge you today. You're free to go as soon as I've filled out the paperwork." He left without saying anything else, not particularly wanting to get his head bashed in with a bedpan. Sevina glared after him, then looked at Matt, who was still grinning. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What is so funny, Hardy?"

Matt smirked and shrugged. "Well, you can't wrestle and I'm on a two week break from Raw." Sevina stared at him as his words sank in, then she grinned as well. Matt hugged her quickly, but let go before she could hit him, which he knew her well enough to know she was going to do.

Victor watched them silently, then stood up and coughed. "I have to go back to my hotel. I told your siblings I would call once I'd seen you. Feel better, Sevina." He moved towards her as if he would embrace her, but became acutely aware of the two other men in the room, so instead he just nodded and walked out. Sevina watched him go and bit her lip a little, hiding her smile, before looking at Matt again. His expression was now one of bemused curiosity. So, Sevina explained to him about her conversation with her father, much to the older Hardy's beaming approval.

Around an hour later, she was released. Matt and Jeff drove her back to the hotel. She fell asleep in the back, curled up on the seat. Jeff glanced back and looked at her, before turning his eyes on her brother. Matt glanced at him, then back to the road, keeping his voice very quiet. "So, are you going to tell her?" Jeff frowned and looked at his hands, then shook his head. Matt let out a long sigh of exasperation. "Even after.."

"No, Matt." Jeff's voice was quiet, but firm and Matt backed off. He knew that it wouldn't do any good to push the subject. They travelled the rest of the journey in silence. Jeff just stared out of the window, lost in this thoughts, in his memories. One in particular. The moment when he had almost kissed Sevina, properly this time. She hadn't pulled away in disgust. She had leaned into him. She had _wanted _him to kiss her. Was her head injury worse than they'd thought? Was that why? Maybe her reaction had been slowed by it…

When they arrived back at the hotel, Matt had carried Sevina up to her room. She had awoken half way through the lobby and demanded that he set her down. When he refused she had put up a fight, struggling in his arms, only to suddenly clap her hands to her head, releasing a very comical; 'Ow.' Matt rolled his eyes at her, only setting her down once they were in her room. She pouted at him, but smiled when he fished around in his pocket and pulled out a small bag of skittles for her. She hadn't been a huge fan of them as a kid, but it was impossible to spend as much time with Matt and Jeff as she had and not learn to love them.

Jeff was nowhere in sight and she was half grateful for that. She didn't know what she would say to him when they finally had a chance to talk again. She kept reliving the moment over and over with a torn view. Half of her was elated and singing loudly, whilst the other half was less optimistic, waiting for the pain that would inevitably come. It was nothing, it was less than that even. It had been a moment of weakness. He'd been touched by the tattoo, that was all. He probably regretted it completely. It would be better not to bring it up, to just let it be one of those moments that never happened. He wouldn't want an embarrassing reminder of the mistake he'd almost made.

Her heavy sigh drew Matt's attention, but he didn't comment. Jeff had told him what happened and for a few moments he had almost believed that this would be the turning point. This would be the time when they finally figured this whole mess out, but that hope had been swiftly snuffed out. Jeff's resolve was set more than ever since the accident. He wouldn't listen to Matt trying to explain that the crash had only happened because of this whole ridiculous situation. His brother was amazingly stubborn at times and so was Sevina. They were both as bad as each other and as badly as Matt wanted to intervene, he knew that he shouldn't. He had to let them figure this out in their own time. He did vow though, that if anymore of these stupid accidents occurred or if it effected their work, he would be forced to say something. He wouldn't let their own idiocy ruin both their lives.


	13. Chapter 13

Sevina was extremely frustrated, for two reasons. Firstly, she wasn't allowed to wrestle, she had to just stand at ringside and watch Jeff. Second, Jeff wasn't talking to her. Again. The story of her accident had broken and the mail rained in. Fans from all across the world were sending her get well soon cards. She was touched, but it only increased her frustration at not being able to go out there and entertain them, give them all she had in return for their support. The most she was allowed to do was a couple of backstage segments. One of these involved Jeff and it had been a horrible moment.

_She sat on the crate, fiddling with her ipod and chewing on her lip. Jeff approached her from the left and leant against the crate. "Hey. How are you feeling?" She shook her head and looked at him, trying to react as the cameras needed her to, with affection, glad to see her friend. She forced the smile onto her face. "Better." Jeff had nodded and patted her leg lightly, sending sparks through her body. "Look, I-" He stopped abruptly as one of the crew members approached. The man was shaking and looking traumatised as he handed Sevina a folded piece of paper. She opened it and then caught her breath sharply, mutely handing it to Jeff, who stared at it. The cameras zoomed in on the single word, written in blood red ink. 'Soon'. _

_The cameras had cut then and Jeff had walked away without a word. Sevina watched him go and pulled her knees up to her chest, trying to block out the pain in her heart and in her head. Each time he blanked her, it felt like her concussion had come back and it filled her head with pain. She knew it was psychosomatic, but it didn't make it any easier to deal with. She didn't know what was worse, barely talking to Jeff and not seeing him, or not talking to him at all and seeing him all the time. The gaping void where he should have been only seemed to get worse as time went on and he didn't see it. He was utterly oblivious to the torture he was putting her through, but she had vowed to herself that she wouldn't show it. She wouldn't force it on him. She would keep it to herself and carry on as if everything were normal._

The knock on her hotel door caught her off guard. She was sat on the bed, meticulously replying to as much of her fan mail as possible. She frowned and waded out of the pile of letters to answer the door. She was surprised to see Matt stood on the other side, she was sure he'd said he was going out with Jeff tonight after his house match. "Hey, can I come in?" Sevina nodded and stepped aside. She returned to bed and began clearing up some of the mess she had made. Matt looked on, smiling a little. "How many cards did you get so far?" Sevina scrunched up her face and looked at the pile of cards which were stacked up precariously on her bedside table. "Two hundred and thirty-four…not including today's, which I haven't opened yet."

"Wow…I didn't get that many when I did my knee." Sevina snorted and sat on the bed, running her fingers through her hair, which had now grown to sit at her shoulders. Matt sat down in the armchair next to the bed and folded his arms. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, Matt. Same as this morning when you asked. I'm absolutely fine, but they wont let me back into matches until I get the all clear from that child-doctor." She shook her head, irritated. Matt nodded, trying to keep the smile off his face. He knew how frustrated she was that the doctor still refused to give her a clean bill of health and still insisted that she wear a wrist brace. The brace she had was white and had been drawn on so much that it was almost impossible to make one doodle out from the other. She had never had a cast of any sort in her life and she was a little annoyed that they had given her a fabric brace so it couldn't be drawn on. Matt had soon proved this wrong, by grabbing a sharpie and inscribing rude words onto the material. Right now, he was just doing anything he could to keep her spirits up. He knew his brother was still being evasive and now she didn't have work to take her mind off it. She attended every show and always accompanied Jeff to the ring, but that was as far as it went. Being with Jeff almost constantly, but being ignored by him was taking it's toll on her.

Matt had seen her after the backstage segment with Jeff, sitting on the crate and holding her head. It wasn't the first time. He had asked her about it, thinking that maybe her concussion was more serious than first believed, but she shrugged it off, saying it had just become a habit when she was stressed. He suspected there was more to it, but he didn't push the subject. He had a feeling he knew where the stress was coming from and he also knew that if the conversation turned towards his brother, Sevina became very agitated and quickly changed direction, not seeming to care how obvious she made it sometimes. "So…um, I thought you were going out tonight?" Sevina posed the question hesitantly, carefully. She looked at Matt, whilst fiddling with a loose thread on her wrist brace. Matt shrugged, he was not about to tell her the truth on this one. Nothing would tear that from his lips right now. "I was but, there was a change of plan. I decided to come and see you instead."

"And he doesn't mind?" She never said Jeff's name anymore if she could help it, but Matt knew exactly who she meant. He shook his head. "Nah. You know how it is." Sevina nodded slowly and luck turned in Matt's favour in the sense that Sevina didn't want to touch on any subject that involved Jeff, so she was happy to drop it there. He didn't want to have to be the one to tell her that in actual fact, his idiotic brother was on a date. This was Jeff's way of sorting this mess out. He'd see someone else, someone he genuinely liked, in the hope that it would distract him from Sevina enough that he would be able to at least talk to her normally again.

Sevina and Matt decided to watch a movie, since there was nothing else do to. They ordered room service, demanding skittles. They picked out a familiar movie that they both liked, but ended up talking through most of it. Sevina felt almost normal, just hanging out with Matt, complaining about life on the road, but in the same breath saying how amazing it was. They laughed and made fun of each other. They had a small food fight, which ended with Sevina covered in buttered popcorn and Matt with yoghurt dripping down his face. At one point, Sevina stole Matt's bag of skittles and ran into the bathroom. She held the open bag over the toilet, threatening to pour them in and flush them away. Matt had lunged at her, with a handful of cream from one of the cakes they had ordered. He smushed the sweet dessert filling into her face as she screamed and threw the bag of skittles, causing them to flying all directions, raining down in a multitude of colours. Eventually they were forced to go to Matt's room, having thoroughly trashed Sevina's.

It was the early hours of the morning before they fell asleep. Matt snored and Sevina kept waking up and poking him. His way to solve this problem was to grab both of her hands and hold them tightly against his chest, preventing her from moving them. Even in sleep his hold didn't ease. Sevina stopped struggling in the end and also fell asleep.

Neither of them heard the door open a fair few hours later. In fact, they weren't aware of anything until it suddenly slammed shut again. Matt roused first, his eyes snapping open. He lifted his head to see Jeff stood at the foot of the bed, his eyes blazing angrily. He looked at Sevina, dropping her hands, which he still had hold of and sat up. This seemed enough to wake her and she yawned, stretching. She stopped mid movement when her eyes fell on Jeff. She dropped her arms and then leant up on her elbows. She said nothing, turning her gaze to Matt. "Jeff…hi."

"Hi? Hi?!" Jeff shook his head furiously, glaring at his brother. He was too incensed to realise that both Matt and Sevina were fully clothed, or to remembered that one was his brother and the other his best friend. "Did you enjoy yourselves last night?"

"Yes, actually." Sevina's voice was unexpected and cutting in it's tone. Jeff frowned at her, watching as she threw back the blankets and stood up. "Did you?" Jeff frowned. Did she know? He looked at Matt quickly, but Matt had the same expression of confusion that his brother did. Sevina laughed, it was not a pleasant sound. It was hard and angry. Did they both think she was stupid? She knew exactly where Jeff had been last night. Mickie had text her to tell her all about her date with the infamous Jeff Hardy. Still, what right did she have to be angry? Jeff didn't even talk to her anymore, let alone tell her about who he was dating.

The pain in her head suddenly flared and she gasped, putting her hands on either side of it tightly, shutting her eyes. Jeff was at her side in a heartbeat, his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, you alright?" She pulled free sharply and lowered her hands. "Leave me alone." She pushed past him and out of the room. Last night had been fun, up until the moment that text had come through just after midnight, but she'd pushed it away, she'd ignored it, storing the hurt up until later.

She didn't know why she was surprised. Jeff was bound to meet someone eventually and it wasn't like anything had ever actually happened between him and Sevina. They barely even looked at each other now.


	14. Chapter 14

The women's locker room was crowded and Sevina could barely hear herself think over the noise. She was sat on the floor, with her back against the wall, watching the other women as they bickered and laughed. She felt no inclination to join in and none of them approached her. They knew her well enough by now to know when she wanted to be left alone. Tonight was quite important, as far as her storyline went, but it wasn't how it was originally supposed to have been. In the script, it was supposed to be _her_ match, not Jeff's, but since she still wasn't allowed to wrestle, it had been changed.

She sighed and closed her eyes, tilting her head back to rest against the wall. She felt a little sick, but that was just the usual nerves. If she hadn't been nervous, then there would have been something really wrong. She took a deep breath and stood up. She saw Maria looking her way, but just waved, smiled and left the room. The halls of the arena were cool and much more spacious than the crowded locker room. She wandered aimlessly for a while, before coming across Drew who was sitting against a wall, throwing a tennis ball at the one opposite and catching it on the rebound. Sevina watched him curiously for a moment, before reaching out and catching the ball before he could grab it. "Hey. Bored?"

Drew looked at her in surprise, then nodded and grimaced a little. Sevina moved to sit beside him and handed him the tennis ball. "Isn't your match up soon?"

"Yeah…just didn't feel like hanging around the monitors though." Sevina nodded, she could understand that. Since her move to SmackDown, she had become quite good friends with Drew and looked at him with a thoughtful expression. He was cute…in a weird kind of way and he had the most adorable accent. Well, if Jeff could date, why shouldn't she? "Hey, Drew…what are you doing after the show?"

"Nothing, why?" Sevina rolled her eyes at him. He clearly hadn't picked up on the intent behind her question. She nudged him slightly and smiled. "I was wondering if you wanted to do something. We could go see a movie or get something to eat…"

Drew laughed a little and turned to look at her properly. "Ataera, are you asking me out?"

"Well, duh!" Sevina smirked at him and he grinned back. Then he nodded. "Sure, that sounds great. Find me afterwards, okay?" She nodded and watched him stand up and leave. For some reason, as soon as he was out of sight, she felt horrible, like she'd done something terrible. There was no reason that she shouldn't have asked Drew out. He was a nice, funny, attractive guy and he seemed to like her. Maybe Jeff had the right idea, maybe moving on was the best thing now. She couldn't have him. He didn't want her and she couldn't spend the rest of her life waiting and hoping for something that would never happen. She needed to let it go. She needed to let _him _go, just like she had promised she would.

Half an hour later, her name was called and she headed to the curtain. She saw Jeff and nodded stiffly. He looked as if he might say something, but then his music hit. As she passed, Sevina hit her knuckles again Glen's, winked at him and then walked through the curtain behind Jeff's bouncing form. On screen they were a perfect team. On screen the barriers fell away and their friendship was exactly how it had always been. The tension disappeared and for those sweet moments, it was possible to forget what was going on behind the scenes. More and more Sevina felt like the child she had once been, wanting to be sucked straight into the wrestling world as she saw it on t.v. She wanted it to be real.

She watched as Jeff slid into the ring. She stood below the corner post that he jumped to and before he jumped back, his eyes met hers and they just looked at one another. It was all part of the act, that's what Sevina kept telling herself, but his eyes, his eyes were real and he was her friend again, even if only for now. She turned her head as Tyson Kidd's music hit and he appeared at the top of the ramp. She fell back out of the way as Jeff jumped out of the ring to let his opponent complete his entrance. Sevina approached her friend and put the flat of her hand against his stomach, turning her body to his as she spoke to him, just unimportant encouragements. She had to be really saying something in case the microphones were close by. Before he got back in the ring, Jeff looked at her, flashed her the smile she missed so much and swept the tips of his fingers down her face, from her hairline to her jaw, before leaving her. Sevina was a little shocked. Normally he didn't touch her, just kept his eyes and focus entirely on the match.

She shook it off and focused on the match. She was stood in front of the announce table, so she could hear the commentary.

_I wonder what's really going on between Jeff Hardy and Sevina?_

_I was just thinking that myself. After everything that they've had going on these last few weeks, being stalked by Kane and The Undertaker, could it be possible that it's pushed them closer and the friendship has become something a bit more?_

_I guess only time will tell. Back to the match at hand, Jeff Hardy hit's Kidd with a mule kick. That look like it hurt!_

Sevina frowned, they had no idea how wrong they were. Their relationship had gone so far in the opposite direction it was almost impossible to recall how close they had once been. She chewed on her lip as she watched her former friend. At one point Tyson got him on the mat and into a submission hold. Sevina was banging on the apron and her eyes locked again with Jeff's. He seemed to go very still for a moment, but then he began moving and powered his way out. The match went well and Jeff won. Sevina rolled into the ring and lifted his arm. He grinned and then as his arm fell he hugged her. She hugged him back. The embrace was brief and scripted. She then stood back and applauded him whilst he flaunted at the crowd.

They both froze in place as Slow Chemical began to play and the pyros went off. Jeff had literally just jumped off the turnbuckle, when the corner posts erupted in flames. He fell back to Sevina's side, wrapping a protective arm around her waist and both stared at the ramp with wide eyes as Kane appeared. Sevina curled her fingers into Jeff's t-shirt, moving closer to his body as her face crumpled with fear.

Kane ambled slowly towards the ring, but stopped half way down the ramp, lifting his mic. "Does your friend know about you, Sevina? Does he know your secret?" Sevina suddenly broke from Jeff, but he grabbed her arm to hold her back. Her voice was picked up by the microphones around the ring. "Leave me alone! Leave me alone, you sick son of a bitch!" Kane laughed and extended his arms to the sides in an innocent gesture, before the laughter completely died from his face and he spoke again. "Shall I tell him, Sevina? Shall I tell them all? Would he want you then? After he knew the truth about you? Or maybe he does know…maybe he'll tell us instead…I'm sure I can...'persuade' him." Now it wasn't Sevina that needed to be held back. Jeff was gone, out of the ring and up the ramp. He charged at Kane, taking a running jump and tackling the Big Red Monster. Both men fell to the ground in a whirl of limbs and violence. "Jeff! No, don't!" Sevina felt her own words transport her back to the day on the roof, the day everything had changed, but she shook it off. She dived out of the ring and soon reached the fight on the ramp. She grabbed Jeff's arm, trying to pull him back. He lashed out without looking, catching her across the face, causing her to stumble back. As he realised what he'd done, he turned to her, but this only gave Kane his opportunity. He speared Jeff, driving him back and back until he hit the side of the ring.

Somehow, they ended up actually in the ring. Jeff was laid out on the mat and Kane was standing over him, ready to deliver more torture. Sevina suddenly grabbed his raised arm, trying to pull him back, but he was far too strong for her. He laughed at her useless efforts, then grabbed her hair with his free hand. He looked at her for a moment as she stared at him in terror. He shoved her away, only to deliver a stinging slap to her face, which sent her crashing to the mat. The audience were in an uproar. Things couldn't seem to get any worse. Like a one man army, Kane was destroying them both. He dragged Jeff to his feet and clamped his hand down around the younger man's throat. The audience held it's breath, they knew what was coming. Sevina was still lying on the mat, apparently unconscious.

No-one expected the music to hit, especially not Sevina or Jeff. No-one expected the new entrance and the arena filled with screams at the sight of the new superstar, running down the ramp at full speed.

**A/N So I've noticed I'm getting a lot of reads, but not a lot of reviews, so I'm am going to withhold the next chapters. I have so much more to add to this, loads more fun, but I really want to get your opinions first. Even if you just want to tell me what you don't like about this, please review it! The more reviews I get, the faster I will update!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N thank you to I Luv Hardy, Anis C-bear and Musichick06 for your reviews...I dedicate these next chapters to you :D**

Kane tried to cover up desperately, but it was useless. He'd been caught off guard by the new entrant and Jeff had recovered enough for to execute some very hard hitting moves with his new companion. Sevina was in shock. She was just hanging onto the ropes, staring at their saviour. The noise from the fans was deafening and the building shook from it. Eventually the two men eased up, leaving Kane in a pile. They both helped Sevina out of the ring and up the ramp. As soon as they got backstage she threw herself at the newcomer, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, hugging him fiercely.

The sudden embrace was a little too unexpected and they both crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs and laughter. Sevina began hitting him. "You complete asshole! How could not tell me about this?!" She was laughing as she spoke, still hitting him. A few minutes later, Glen came through the curtain. He watched Sevina for a moment with amusement, then coughed to get their attention. Sevina lifted her head, then grinned and stood up. "Did you know about this?"

Glen just shrugged, but there was a definite smirk playing about his mouth. Sevina launched herself at him this time, but he caught her midair and easily prevented her attempts at bashing him over the head. The pile of limbs on the floor stood up and shook his long hair from his face. "Geez, Kid. If I'd known you were gonna try and kill me, I'd have told you." Matt smirked and folded his arms. Sevina struggled free of Glen's grip to hug her friend again, less violently this time. She couldn't believe he'd switched brands and that he'd kept it from her all this time. It certainly explained his smug, cheerful disposition over the last few days.

Matt was looking around, frowning slightly. "Where's Jeff?" He looked at Sevina, who was now also searching the area for the younger Hardy brother. She bit the inside of her lip and met Matt's anxious gaze. She forced herself to shrug and then glanced at her watched, squeaking slightly. "Damn! We overran by ten minutes! I'm gonna be late!"

"Late for what?" Matt asked, his eyes on Glen who had wandered off to talk to someone. Sevina shifted nervously. "My date." Matt's attention suddenly shifted completely to her. He was looking at her in an almost accusatory way. "Date? With who?" Sevina felt defiance wash over her. Why should she feel guilty? It was nothing to do with Matt -or Jeff, for that matter-, who she dated and why. It wasn't like she was promised to someone else. "Never you mind. Really glad you're here, Big Brother." She kissed his cheek swiftly, then ran off to get changed.

Matt watched her, then looked around, finding himself alone in the corridor. He sighed and shook his head and went in search of his brother. It didn't take long to find him. He rounded the first corner and almost tripped over Jeff, who was sat on the floor with his back against the wall. The look on his face was so distressed it was alarming. Matt frowned and sat beside him. "You heard that, huh?" Jeff nodded mutely and ran his hands down his face, shrugging and dropping his arms to rest on his knees. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I've got no claim on her or anything." Matt made a derisive noise and shook his head. He wasn't going to get into this again. He stood up and held out a hand to help his brother up. "Come on. Let's get drunk." That was the best suggestion Jeff had heard in a long time and he gladly accepted.

-----

Sevina dithered about in front of her mirror, adjusting her outfit. She grimaced. "You think it's too much? Not enough?" Maria was laying on her stomach on her friend's bed. She lifted her eyes from her magazine to look at Sevina, rolling her eyes as she assured her for the millionth time. "You look great, Vina. Quit worrying. Drew would be a mad man if he didn't like it." Sevina glanced over at the tiny brunette, then back to the mirror. She was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a black halter top, that showed a little too much cleavage for her liking. It was held around the neck by a solid silver hoop and the bottom showered off a fair amount of her stomach, though not quite up to her navel. It did however exposed the tattoo on her back and the one on her lower stomach, which was similar in design to the very common, 'gun tucked down the belt', but in her version, it was a hand, making the impression of a gun.

She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled on her flat, black leather boots, shaking her hair from her face to look at Maria. "Am I nuts for doing this?" Maria let out a sigh of exasperation and flipped the magazine shut. She sat up and fixed Sevina with a glare. "What's the alternative? Sit here and pine after Jeff without any intention of telling him how you feel? Drew's nice. He's cute and he's sweet. It's not like anyone's asking you to marry the guy, just go out and have fun. I swear, if I have to put up with you moping about in your hotel room for one more night, I am going to put you through a window." Sevina stood up, hands raised in surrender and backed away. "Okay, okay. No windows. They're expensive." She ducked as Maria threw a pillow at her. She caught it and threw it back. "Get out. Drew's gonna be here soon." Maria snorted with laughter and then trotted out of the room, waggling her fingers in a wave.

Sevina stuck her tongue out at the friend's retreating back and then shut the door. She walked to the mirror again and frowned at herself. Her hair was growing out quite quickly. Half of her was tempted to let it grow long again, but as soon as she remembered the reason she'd cut it all off in the first place, she quickly changed her mind. She would cut it tomorrow. She flicked some of it from her face, watching as the blue highlights shone out. Maybe she needed to change the colour as well. She'd had her hair blue for a very long time.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a tentative knock on her door. She smiled to herself and went to open it. She was slightly taken aback by the sight of Drew, dressed in a smart and obviously new pair of stonewash jeans and a slate grey shirt. He was holding a small bunch of wild flowers. Sevina grinned at him and took the flowers as he held them out. "Thank you. They're lovely. Come in a minute. I'll put them in water and we can go." She stepped aside to let him in. She walked to her dresser, where a bunch of dead flowers were sitting despondently in a vase. She quickly threw them out, filled the vase with water and carefully put the new flowers in it. She then turned to Drew, who was watching her. She smiled brightly at him and he held out his arm. She laughed and took it. "You look great, Drew. It's weird seeing you in real clothes."

Drew laughed as he lead her out. "Well, so do you. Really." Sevina smiled and forced herself not to disagree. She wasn't good with compliments, tending to automatically reject them. They had talked on the phone and decided on a movie and then dinner. Nothing too extravagant, but it was a first date, so they had decided on keeping it nice and simple.

Sevina was surprised at just how much she enjoyed herself. They chose to go and see a comedy, which turned out to be truly hilarious and the restaurant they had chosen was fairly quiet so they were able to have a proper conversation without being recognised or hounded for autographs. They had quite a lot in common and found plenty of things to laugh at, genuinely enjoying each other's company. Sevina was almost able to forget about Jeff. Almost. His presence still hovered in the back of her mind, but Drew was engaging and charming enough to draw her focus.

They left the restaurant still laughing about the film. Their hands were loosely and casually interlinked. Sevina half tripped off the curb and Drew caught her, sending them both off into another ream of laughter. That laughter stopped dead when they reached Drew's car. Someone was sitting on the hood. It was dark so it was difficult to see. Drew frowned, pulling away from Sevina. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Sevina caught hold of his arm as she realised who it was.

Jeff had his arms folded and was scowling at them both. From the way that he was swaying slightly from side to side, he was quite drunk as well. "Drew, it's just Jeff."

"That's right. _Just_ Jeff." Jeff's voice was a little slurred and he slid unsteadily off the hood of the car, to stand up. He stood perfectly still for a moment before walking up to them and shoving Drew hard. "Jeff! What the hell?!" Sevina was glaring at him. She planted both of her hands on his chest and pushed him back. He grabbed hold of her wrists and looked at her, his gaze intense. She could smell the alcohol on him and tried to pull her hands back, but he wouldn't let her. "What are you doing with this guy, Vina? He's a chump."

"That's none of your business!" She continued to try and pull her hands free. By this point Drew had recovered. He grabbed Jeff by the hair and wrenched him back, forcing him to let go of Sevina. "I think you need to go home and sleep it off, buddy."

"I am not your buddy." Jeff swung for Drew, his fist connecting with his face, knocking him to the ground. Sevina grabbed Jeff, her hands going to his waist, pulling him away with all her strength. He spun to face her, grabbing her upper arms in a painful grip. She gasped and tried to pull away. "Jeff... You're hurting me!" His mood suddenly changed and his face became unbelievably sad. "I know…I know.." His voice was a gasp and a whisper. He let go of her without warning and ran off. Sevina stared after him, then looked at Drew. "Are you okay?"

Drew rubbed his jaw and nodded slowly. "Yeah. What the hell was that all about?"

"I have…no clue." Sevina shook her head, then insisted on driving back to the hotel. She apologised over and over for Jeff's behaviour, but Drew just shook it off good naturedly. "Hey, I've been drunk a few times and done some stupid things. He's your friend, right? He's just looking out for you." Sevina twisted her hands on the steering wheel and didn't answer. Once they were inside, Drew walked her to her room. She looked at him, frowning. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. Stop worrying. Look, tonight was great. Up until…yeah. Can we do it again some time?"

Sevina smiled and nodded, then leant up to place a very light kiss on his cheek. He grinned at her and touched her chin lightly. "Just…call off the guard dogs next time, eh?" He chuckled and wandered off down the hall. Sevina unlocked her door and walked inside. She flicked on the light then screamed. "Holy shit! What are you doing!?"


	16. Chapter 16

Matt was sitting on her bed, looking extremely sorry for himself. Sevina threw her bag and keys to one side, then sat down beside him. She nudged him, frowning. "Hey. What are you doing? How did you get in here?" Matt said nothing, but held up her spare room key. Sevina rolled her eyes, looking at him closely. He stank of alcohol just as much as his brother had. He also looked thoroughly and pitifully depressed. Sevina lifted her eyebrows and placed a hand on the back of his head. "Matthew, what's the matter?" Her tone was affectionately exasperated. She knew he had a habit of getting overly clingy and rather down when he drank too much. He took a deep breath and let it out in the heaviest sigh Sevina had ever heard. He turned his wide, mournful eyes to her and said quietly; "I lost Jeff."

Sevina rolled her eyes and dropped the hand from his head to lightly stroke his back. "He's fine, Matt. I saw him." It was only half a life. She had seen him, but she didn't know if he was fine. He hadn't seemed it. She frowned a little, before turning her full attention back to Matt who was pouting slightly. "You and Jeff should like each other again." Sevina's eyes tightened and shook her head, speaking in an indulgent tone. "We do like each other, Matt. We're just having problems."

Matt shook his head, seeming to snap out of his almost daze. He took hold of Sevina's hand tightly and spoke urgently. "No. No. Listen. Listen to me. You have to talk to each other. You love each other. Like…like Will and Elizabeth."

"Who are Will and Elizabeth?" Sevina lifted her eyebrows and Matt looked at her blankly for a moment before answering. "Pirates of the Caribbean."

"You want me and Jeff to be pirates?"

"Yes…I mean, no. I mean…what?" Sevina couldn't restrain a giggle. She shook her head. "Come on. Bed." Matt seemed to want to argue, but the thread of whatever he had been trying to say was lost in his drunken haze. He let Sevina help him take off his shoes and socks and then clambered into her bed. She made sure he was settled before she left. She shut the door quietly and then leant against it. Right, now to find the other one. She sighed and shook her head. She did wonder why she bothered sometimes, but then she thought of Matt, smiling at her like a child as she tucked him into her bed. That's why.

She pushed away from the door and headed down to the parking lot. It took her a moment to find her car. As she climbed into it, it suddenly occurred to her that she had absolutely no idea where to start looking. She let out her second scream of the night as a pair of feet suddenly landed on the hood of her car. Once she'd calmed down a little, she peered at the pair of battered sneakers. She knew those feet. "Jeff!" She scowled and got out of the car, looking at the man stood on her bonnet. "Get the hell off my car!" Jeff wobbled once and then jumped down. He looked at Sevina very pitifully and sighed. Sevina then looked at the roof of the car. How had she not noticed him up there? She cast her gaze a little higher to see the low hanging ledge she parked under. Ah. That explained it. "What are you? Part monkey?"

"We're all part monkey." Jeff said this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Sevina sighed and rolled her eyes. "Come on. You need to go to bed. "

"No, I don't. I'm fine."

"Oh really? So that's why you jumped Drew for no good reason?"

"I had a reason."

"Don't give me that protective big brother crap, Jeff. It doesn't wash."

"I wasn't planning to." They just looked at one another for a long moment. Jeff then crossed the distance between them to stand directly in front of her. Sevina took an automatic step back, feeling her head start to throb. "Let's go inside, Jeff."

"Why?"

"It's cold out here."

"I'm not cold."

"You're drunk."

"Yes….and?" Sevina sighed and passed a hand over her eyes. This was pointless. She shrugged and turned to lock her car. "Fine. Have a nice night." Jeff suddenly moved as she turned away from the car and pinned her against the driver's door. She let out a squeak of alarm and stared at him. "What are you doing?!"

"Are you scared of me?" He was frowning, clearly feeling the trembling running through her. She was not about to tell him that it had nothing to do with fear. She shook her head. "No. I'm cold. Let me go."

"Sevina…it's the middle of summer and we're in Phoenix. How are you cold?" Sevina shut her eyes for a moment, wishing he would just go away. She couldn't deal with this. It wasn't fair. What made matters worse, Jeff chose that moment to move his face far too close to hers, trying to get her to look at him. "Please, look at me." The gentleness of his voice caught her off guard and her eyes snapped open. She regretted it immediately. He was mere inches from her face and his emerald eyes blazed into hers. She opened her mouth to say something, but his lips covered her, silencing her.

For a moment, there was elation, there was bright, wonderful happiness and then it all crashed. She could taste the alcohol on his mouth and it brought reality back with a sharp snap. He was drunk. He was doing exactly what he'd been doing the very first time he'd kissed her; trying to make himself feel better. Her hands moved to his chest and she shoved him back violently. She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and glared at him. He fell back, his eyes bright and his breathing a bit laboured. Sevina said nothing, just stared at him for a long time, before turning and running back inside.

-----

It took Sevina a few moments to realise she was on the couch in her room when she woke up. She rubbed her eyes, frowning as the previous night's events washed over her. She swore and put her hands over her face. Was there going to be a single day when something didn't happen to make things even worse than usual with herself and Jeff? At that moment, there was a knock at the door. She dragged herself up, glancing at Matt's still sleeping form, before answering the door. She frowned at the mail carrier as he handed her a bulky envelope that could only be a script containing the new re-writes. She signed for it and then wandered inside. She threw the unopened script on the table and then went to rouse Matt. It took several attempts, but she eventually manage to get him to wake up.

Once she was certain he wasn't going to go back to sleep, she went to take a shower. She tried not to think about last night, tried not to let her mind replay the thought of Jeff's mouth on hers. He was drunk. That was all. He was just drunk. She repeated the thought over and over until she had herself convinced and then finally emerged from the shower and dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a black top with thin straps. As she looked in the mirror she remembered her decision to cut her hair again and made a mental note to talk to the travelling hairdresser.

She walked back into her room to find Matt sat at the table. He had ordered breakfast and was now sipping coffee, eating a waffle and flicking through her script. "Please, Matt. Open my mail." She said sarcastically. He looked at her, then shrugged and went back to what he was doing. Sevina rolled her eyes and sat down on the bed to pull her boots on. Matt's sudden cursing caused her to stop. She lifted her head and frowned at him. "What?"

"Nothing." Matt put on a very bad innocent face and closed the script abruptly. Sevina frowned and walked over to him, holding her hand out for the script. He pulled it out of reach. "Matt, don't be a douche, give me that." He continued to evade her, so she jumped on him and wrestled the script from his hands, then backed off, flicking through it. When she found what he had been reading she froze in place. "Oh you have got to be kidding! What the hell?!"


	17. Chapter 17

Sevina was freaking out. She was pacing the floor in the locker room and almost hyperventilating. She was twisting her hands together, only to then run them through her newly short hair, which now had streaks of white instead of blue. Matt was watching her, getting more and more anxious as every second passed. He finally stood up and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly. "Vina, calm down. It's just part of the job." Sevina looked at him like he'd gone mad. "Just part of the job?! Are you freaking kidding me?!" Matt sighed and clasped her face in his hands, forcing her to focus on him. "It's a storyline, Vina."

"I have to kiss Jeff!" Matt sighed. They had been over this again and again. Sevina had even called the creative department to try and get them to change it, but it was no-go. She and Jeff were now officially locked in a romantic storyline. Sevina hadn't stopped stressing over it since she'd found out. Jeff had said nothing. Neither of them had spoken to each other at all. This was the first time they would see one another since the night in the parking lot. Matt was almost overwhelmed by their stupidity.

It was also Sevina's first match since her accident, wich wasn't helping her stress levels. Matt had never seen her so worked up. It was quite alarming. She was going to give herself a stomach ulcer if she didn't stop stressing. She was now holding onto her head as if she had an intense and sudden headache. Matt sighed and looked up as there was a knock on the door and one of the crew members stuck his head around the door to let them know that they were needed for the cameras. Sevina threw her boot at his head, causing him to yelp and run out. "Vina, assaulting the staff is not going to make this any easier." Matt said bracingly. He was going to be at ringside tonight along with Jeff and was quietly glad about that, at least if he was here he could keep an eye on her, make sure she didn't work herself up to the point of actually passing out.

Eventually, he managed to convince Sevina that hiding in the locker room was not going to make it all go away. He half dragged her down to where the cameras were set up. Jeff was already there. He was stood against the wall, looking at nothing in particular. He offered Matt a small smile, but didn't even looked at Sevina, who was looking like she wanted to throw up. She took a deep breath and walked over to Jeff, leaning half on the wall beside him, half on him and leaning her head on his shoulder as the cameras started rolling. He looked at her and spoke to her in a very gentle, mellow tone, with obvious affection in his face. It was a very sweet moment and Matt wished that they could both see it for how it really was. He didn't have time to dwell on it though, as he walked into shot. "Hey guys. What's going on?"

Sevina lifted her head and smiled at Matt. "Hey." Jeff nodded to Matt and reached out, not moving Sevina from her position against him, to knock his knuckles against his brother's. "You coming out there with us tonight?"

"Hell yeah. Wouldn't miss it. If Kane and The Undertaker decided to show themselves, we'll be ready for them." They all smiled at each other and then the cameras cut out. Sevina took a deep breath and moved away. She had spotted Drew down the corridor and ran over to him. Jeff glowered at the sight. Matt nudged him. "Hey, you're the one who gets to kiss her on screen." This earned him a fierce glare. Jeff shook his head and stalked away. Matt let out a noise of exasperation and wandered off to find something to do before their match.

The match went well. Sevina won by submission, something she was becoming quite well known for. At the end of the match, Jeff and Matt got into the ring and celebrated with her. The audience loved it. They didn't know what was about to happen, so when Sevina hugged Matt and then turned to Jeff, they were shocked to see him lightly frame her face with his hands. She looked up at him and he saw the conflict in her eyes and knew she must have seen the anticipation, almost excitement in his. He then lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her. He kissed her as he always intended to the first time, gently but passionately, pouring all of himself into the action. Her felt her arms go around his neck and her body mould to his like it was specially cut out to be there. His arms held her around the waist, pulling her tighter to him.

The fans were on their feet, screaming wordlessly and cheering. Matt was grinning at them and the commentators were chattering away excitedly, but none of that mattered. All that mattered was them. In that moment they were one body, one soul and nothing else existed. Sevina knew they'd been holding onto each other for too long, but she didn't care. She didn't want it to stop. She didn't want to see the cool detachment in his eyes when he pulled away from her. She put all of herself into that kiss, as if somehow trying to communicate how she really felt. She'd never been kissed that way before, like the world would end if her lips parted from his. For a few moments, she could imagine that he felt the same way about her, that he wanted her as badly as she wanted him.

Eventually, it ended and the world rushed back. The noise and the awareness of where they were. They were breathing hard and just looking at each other. Matt patted them both on the back and indicated to the ramp. Reluctantly, their tore their eyes away from each other and left the ring. Jeff held tightly to Sevina's hand as they walked and she just smiled at him. She could feel some part of her breaking, knowing what would happen as soon as they walked through the curtain. She was right. Jeff pulled his hand free and walked away, leaving her just stood there. Matt was stood behind her and she could sense how much he wanted to say something, but she just shook her head and went to the locker room. She needed time. She needed to think. She needed to prepare herself for the pain she knew was going to hit any moment.

**A/N: As before, the more reviews I get, the faster I will update, but I would really like your opinions! Please review! :D**


	18. Chapter 18

For the first time since she had moved to SmackDown, Sevina didn't meet up with everyone else to watch the show on the Friday. She didn't have the physical or emotional energy. She had done two house shows during the week, during both, she had had to kiss Jeff, only to have him walk away straight after. Her mind, her ability to cope was at breaking point. She had called things off with Drew. It wasn't fair to him. She couldn't offer him anything right now and whilst she did like him, it wasn't enough. It would never be enough. She could date a thousand guys and it would still not cover the hole in her heart where her best friend should have been.

She didn't go out, ever. She made the decision to focus entirely on work, because at work, in the ring and in front of the cameras, she could be somebody else. She wasn't Sevina Ataera, she was just Sevina, WWE Performer and the fans loved her. They loved the person that she became when she stepped under those lights. They hung on her every word and each move that she made. They screamed for her and booed when she was cheated out of a win. Sevina the character had everything. Sevina the character had Jeff. She had all the things that Sevina, the woman, could never achieve. She was literally at war with herself, envious of herself. It was a bizarre sensation.

The others noticed the change in Sevina. She was no longer content to stand and talk aimlessly to the people who had become her friends, she barely socialised, not even with Matt. She took everything very seriously. When she wasn't working, she was in the gym, or in her hotel room, running her lines over and over. She threw herself into every challenge she was presented with and it showed. Her work was perfect, her acting, her wrestling, all of it was better than it had ever been, but something was obviously missing. Her smile was gone, her enthusiasm for life was gone. It was like the character she played on screen had completely enveloped the person she was before. She wouldn't be the first person to lose themselves in the weight of their first major storyline, but it was with saddened expressions that everyone came to the conclusion that this was what was happening to her. No-one lasted long once the character took over. The burn-out soon followed and then…nothing. Sevina was good, she had to potential to be great, but the question on everyone's lips was; did she have the strength to withstand herself?

The next few weeks saw the new twist to the storyline solidify until Sevina and Jeff were the new, strong couple on SmackDown. Glen and Mark were ever-present, but had dropped into the background. Now it was time for them to remind everyone that they were still there. Sevina was sitting in the women's locker room, pulling her boots on, the cameras rolled outside as Jeff approached the door and knocked. "Sevina? You in there babe?"

"Come in." Jeff opened the door and walked inside. Sevina smiled at him and finished lacing her boot up, before standing up and approaching him. He rested his hands lightly on her hips and she crossed her wrists behind his neck. They looked adoringly at one another. "What's up?" Jeff smiled and brought one of his hands up to brush the hair from her face, causing her eyes to fall momentarily closed, which wasn't in the script. "I heard Kane and The Undertaker have been lurking around. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine. I haven't seen either of them."

"Okay. Have you seen Matt? He's MIA." Sevina shook her head and the expression on her face cut off any further questions he might have had. His dipped his head and captured her mouth in a devastating kiss that left her clinging to him and gasping for breath. The cameras caught all of it as he laughed softly, placed one final, brief kiss on her mouth, then winked and left. Sevina watched him, smiling and then sat back down on the bench to tape her wrist. Suddenly, all the lights in the locker room went dead. Sevina stood up, looking around. The cameras could just about make out her movements. There was the sound of heavy footsteps coming closer to her. "Hello?" Sevina's voice sounded scared, uneasy, especially with what Jeff had just told her. There was a painful silence as the footsteps stopped. All that could be heard was Sevina's ragged breathing. Then, from nowhere, came Kane's voice. "Soon." The menace that dripped from his voice made Sevina shudder and then all that was heard was her scream, before the cameras went dead.

When the lights came back on, Sevina let out a real scream, finding that Glen was stood about an inch away from her, making a gruesome face. When she jumped back, screaming, he laughed as if his head were about to explode. She whacked him lightly and shook her head. "Oh come on! That was funny!" Sevina just rolled her eyes as he continued to snicker. She walked out of the locker room and straight into Jeff. She was walking at a fair speed, so when she smacked straight into his chest, it sent her reeling backwards. His hands grabbed her waist to stop her from falling. "Thanks." She said coolly and pushed his hands away. She didn't see the hurt expression that crossed his face. "Vina, can we talk?" Sevina didn't look at him as she adjusted the tape on her wrist. "I don't have time, Jeff." She turned to walk away but he grabbed her arm and then pushed her back into the, now deserted, locker room. She glared at him and stepped back out of the reach of his pushing hands. "What are you doing?" Jeff frowned at her, then turned to the door, snapping the lock into place. "Jeff! I have places to be!"

"Where?" He questioned her sharply. She didn't answer. They both knew she was just going to go and find a quiet corner and go over and over in her head the upcoming match. It was Jeff's match, but since she was going to be ringside she felt the need to study it intensely. Sevina shook her head and went to move past him and unlock the door, but he moved in her way, folding his arms over her chest. "We need to talk about this."

"About what?"

"You know what."

"No, Jeff. I don't. Enlighten me." Sevina glared at him and he sighed, running his fingers through his hair, before looking at her sorrowfully. "Us, Sevina. We don't even talk anymore." Now Sevina stared at him incredulously. What the hell was he trying to do to her?! "That's your doing, not mine!"

Jeff shook his head, looking at her imploringly. "I never meant for it to end up like this."

"Well it did. You put us here. That was _your _choice. Deal with it." She had never spoken to Jeff this way, never been so cold towards him. She didn't even know she had it in her to be like that with him. She just couldn't stand it anymore. She'd had enough of hurting, of wanting him and knowing she couldn't have him. She couldn't bear to hang onto him, knowing he wanted nothing to do with her.

"Sevina, please, listen to me."

"Why? So you can try and make yourself feel better? Again. Well, I'm sorry Jeff, but I'm done. If you have a guilty conscience that's not my problem. I don't know what more you want me to do!" Even to her own ears her voice sounded strained. She didn't know what he wanted from her. One minute he wanted them to be friends, the next he wouldn't even look at her. She watched his expression crumple and felt something close to satisfaction. Good. Now maybe he would understand. Now maybe he would get it. She tried to move past him again, but he still wouldn't let her. "Sevina, I'm sorry. I don't…I don't know what happened to us." Sevina moved back again and shook her head. She needed to get out of here. Her head was pounding and she could feel her breathing accelerating from the stress of the situation. "I do. You changed. You changed and took everything with you! You spoiled everything! I don't know what I did that was so fucking horrible, Jeff but I'm not gonna be punished for it anymore." Jeff shook his head and his hands reached for her but she moved away. "I never meant to hurt you."

"But you did! Over and over again! I can't _do_ this anymore! I don't know you! You're not the person you used to be, you're not the man that I l-." She stopped abruptly, on the edge of revealing it all. She quickly changed direction, her tone becoming cold again, almost derisive. "Do me a favour, Jeff. Turn back into the person you used to be. Then come and find me." This time she all but shoved him out of the way to get to the door. She unlocked it and wrenched it open, stalking out and slamming it behind her. Jeff stood, staring at the blank wood surface of the door and felt as if he had been punched in the chest. He'd ruined everything. He'd hurt her too much. Pushed her too far. Now she was gone. Wasn't that what he had wanted though? Hadn't he been trying to get her to let him go? Or had some part of his mind been hoping she would fight back? Hoping she would give him a sign that she felt something for him as well?

His own selfishness had blinded him to what he was doing. To how he had been treating her. He had tried to force something from her, as she tried to make whatever he was going through as easy for him as possible. His actions had been inexcusable.


	19. Chapter 19

Jeff made his way down to the ring, slapping fives and almost bouncing along the ramp. Sevina followed behind, half dancing along, stopping to kiss a young girl on the cheek. Jeff slid into the ring, flying onto the turnbuckle, throwing his hands out to the sides and tipping his head back, savouring the feeling of being here. Sevina stood on the apron, gripping the top rope. Jeff looked at her as he jumped down, his expression enquiring. This wasn't what she usually did. She smirked at him, he'd never seen that look on her face before. She leaned back, still hanging onto the ropes, then suddenly jumped, her legs fully splitting as she scaled the top rope, to land gracefully on the canvas. The crowd roared with approval and she sent them a bow.

Then they both moved to the back of the ring. Jeff's arm slid around her waist and her hand came to rest on his chest, her body turned towards him. No-one could tell how tense they both were. They watched the ramp, waiting for Jeff's opponent. Minutes passed, the crowd were getting restless, it was starting to look like a no-show. Sevina frowned at Jeff, but he was looking at the ref, asking him what was going on. The ref just looked clueless. Jeff began to get agitated. Sevina lightly placed her hands on his face, making him look at her and talking to him soothingly. His eyes burned into hers and she almost choked on the scripted words. All he had to do was look at her and it left her fighting for control.

She was saved by the suddenly flashing of the titantron. She tore her eyes from him to look at the huge screen. She gasped and looked suitably stricken as Matt's, bruised and bloodied face appeared. He was tied to an office chair in a room that was clearly nowhere in the arena. He seemed to be slipping in and out of consciousness. Sevina had to physically restrain Jeff, who had made a move as if to leave the ring. The camera moved out to reveal The Undertaker stood silently behind him. His head was down, the rim of his hat casting his face into shadow. Again Sevina had to restrain Jeff.

Then, Kane's face slid into view from the side of the camera, a sickening grin plastered on his expression. "Look what we've got, Sevina." He turned his head to look at Matt, before looking at the camera again and laughing. His stopped abruptly, his expression becoming intense and menacing. "How many more of your protectors are going to get hurt before you tell them, Sevina? Shall we take his brother next? Your beloved boyfriend." Now Jeff was restraining Sevina as she screamed insults and profanities at the screen. Kane laughed again, moving back from the camera. He walked over to Matt and suddenly grabbed his hair, yanking his head back, causing the older Hardy to groan in pain. He looked at his face closely, before looking at the camera again. "Five days, Sevina. Five days or we take the other one." The camera suddenly cut out and all eyes turned to Sevina and Jeff, still stood in the ring looking aghast. Jeff looked at Sevina, frowning, but she was just staring at the dead screen.

The commentary in the background reflected the thoughts of the crowd, talking in unusually sombre tones.

_Poor Sevina. What's she going to do, Todd? What could it possibly be that The Undertaker and Kane are trying to get her to confess?_

_I don't know, but I truly feel for her. Who would want to have to choose between baring a secret that could ruin your career and or having the person you love 's safety threatened?_

_Certainly not me. I hope she figures it out before more people get hurt. Someone has to stop Kane and The Undertaker before they rip this young woman apart._

The cameras followed Sevina and Jeff backstage. Sevina was walking away when Jeff grabbed her arm, spinning her around. "Hey! Hey! You have to start talking, Sevina. What the hell is going on?" Sevina looked at him, the panic clear in her eyes. "I can't. Jeff, I can't."

"They've got my brother! They've got Matt! He's your best friend. You have to tell me." Sevina was clearly torn, she then grabbed Jeff's hand and dragged him into the women's locker room. The camera zoomed in on the door and then cut out.

Inside the room, Sevina let go of Jeff's hand and sat down on the bench. She ran her hands down her face then began unlacing her boots. She didn't look at Jeff or speak to him. He hovered for only a few moments before he left. When he was gone, Sevina sat back and let out a heavy sigh.

**A/N: Oooh, what's going on? You know how to find out :D Review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: So, asking for reviews isnt working. Okay. Fair enough. As long as some people are enjoying this, then it's worth it to me. I will still ask you to review, but I will not be withholding chapters. As soon as I write them, they'll be posted. This is as much for my enjoyment as yours :D Knowing that they're being read is reward enough for me!**

Sevina headed straight for the hotel after she'd showered and changed. She threw her bag onto the bed and then followed it with her body. As her face hit the pillow, she let out a scream, kicking her legs and banging her arms against the soft blankets as well. She let all of the frustration just pour out of her. She then sat up and found a very bemused Matt standing in the doorway. He coughed and shifted awkwardly. "Um…you left the door open. I was gonna ask if you want to come down to the club. Since we're leaving town tomorrow, I thought you might like to at least spend one night not being shut up in your room."

Sevina grimaced and shoved her hair out of her eyes. She let out a heavy sigh and shook her head. Matt moved to sit on the bed beside her. "Come on, Vina. You can't hide away forever." Sevina wanted to stubbornly tell him that; yes, she could, but she didn't. Instead she lay her head on her friend's shoulder. "I will. Once the storyline's over. Everything will be fine." Matt didn't believe her, but he knew better than to argue. He put an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. She sighed again and closed her eyes. "Why couldn't it have been you, Matt?" Matt frowned and pulled away to look at her. "What do you mean?"

Sevina sat up straight and ran a hand over her hair, then down her face, before letting it drop. "Why couldn't I have fallen for you instead?" Matt drew her back against his shoulder, hugging her lightly. He frowned a little, but his voice was light and teasing. "Because that would have been gross." Sevina giggled a little and nodded. She moved away and smiled at him, then stood up and dropped a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks Matt. Now, get out. I have some stuff to do." Matt lifted an eyebrow and saluted sharply, then left the room. He didn't want to keep leaving her alone, but she wouldn't have it any other way. She was ridiculously stubborn. Well, he was damn sure he wasn't going to let Jeff stay in as well. One of them had to come at out of their rooms at the very least. With that thought in mind, he went to find his brother.

-----

"Matt…I don't want to be here." Jeff protested as his brother half shoved him through the door of the club. They had just been stopped by the door staff who declared at Jeff's black t-shirt, baggy, torn jeans and sneakers didn't fit the dress code. Jeff had threatened to mule kick them and they'd changed their minds, but he still didn't want to be here. Matt was being extremely obnoxious about the whole thing as he dragged him to the bar. "Tough shit, little brother." He ordered their drinks and leant on the bar. He looked at Jeff who was scowling sulkily at nothing in particular. "Jeff, listen to me. You gotta stop this. Torturing yourself isn't going to help anything." He paid for their drinks and let Jeff lead the way to one of the booths on the edges of the dance floor. Jeff sat down and took the beer that Matt held out to him. He emptied it in one go. Matt stared at him for a moment, then coughed. "Okay. It's going to be one of those nights." He quickly flagged one of the serving girls who was walking around and ordered regular drinks.

Jeff was staring gloomily into space and Matt was almost at the point of hitting him with his own empty bottle, just to get a reaction out of him. "You two are as bad as each other, you know that?" Jeff looked at him and frowned a little, but didn't say anything. Matt rolled his eyes as the new drinks arrived. Again, Jeff's beer disappeared almost instantly. Matt's hand came down on his shoulder firmly. "Take it easy, Jeffro."

"Don't call me that."

"Why not?"

"Sevina called me that." Matt sighed again and removed his hand from Jeff's shoulder. This was supposed to be attempt at cheering Jeff up, not making him more depressed. Apparently it was already failing spectacularly. So, instead, he steered the conversation towards work. One thing you could always count on, was that Jeff was passionate about his job and would talk about it non-stop if he had the chance. Matt played to this and bit by bit, drew his brother out of the shell of despondency that he'd crawled into.

They both drank a bit too much, but it didn't matter. Jeff was having fun. He was smiling and chattering away. Everything was going well, but even through his slightly drunken haze, Matt saw danger approaching from a mile away and whilst his head screamed at the cause of it to turn around and go back to her friends, his mouth remained closed. He could do nothing but watch.

She could only have been in her very early twenties, no more than twenty-three. She was pretty, underneath all the make-up and she had very obviously modelled herself on Sevina's in-ring style. Her hair was cut to the same shape and had badly placed white highlights. She was wearing a pair of black shorts and a form fitting, black top with thick straps. She spotted Jeff and there was no mistaking the predatory look in her eyes. She slinked over to him, leaning over the table, giving him a perfect view down her top, but his eyes were locked on her face, as if he were confused by something. She smiled at him seductively and leaned further to whisper in his ear. Jeff stood up instantly. Matt grabbed his arm, shaking his head by way of warning, but Jeff shrugged him off. He was too far gone to even realise what he was doing.

It started simply enough. A dance. And then another. They all began to blend into one another. On some level, Jeff knew that she wasn't Sevina. He knew she wasn't the person he wanted. Her body, which was plastered against his own in a suffocating grip, didn't fit. It didn't feel right there. Sevina's always felt right. Like it belonged against him. Yet, the dominant part of his mind, didn't care. It didn't care that he was going to regret this. It didn't care that she was a bad replica of the thing he wanted. None of that mattered, for reasons he couldn't justify. There was no reasoning, there was just now and this moment and the fact that Sevina didn't want him, but this girl who looked vaguely like her did.

He didn't know how he ended up outside. Had she pulled him out here? Or had he pulled her? The details were confused and he had to acknowledge the fact that he was really, really drunk. All he knew was that she was pushed against the wall, her fingers were holding too tightly to his hair and he was kissing her. He pushed himself harder against her, as if searching for that fit, but it wasn't there. All there was, was her gasp of pain and pleasure as her back dug into the wall. Her mouth was cold and too wide, her lips were dry. He'd kissed Sevina a lot by this point on-screen and her mouth was always soft, yielding beneath his, fitting to his perfectly, always begging him for more, begging him not to go away. At least, that is what he told himself.

This girl, this fragile girl, who obviously had no confidence in her own identity, was not Sevina and she never could be and drowning himself in her to try and pretend would only hurt them both. He couldn't do this. Not with her. Not with anyone. He pulled away suddenly, forcing her to release her grip. She looked confused and as he looked at her, he saw her with clear eyes. She was faceless to him. How could he have mistaken her for anything close to Sevina? Or anyone for that matter? They were all faceless now. There was only her. Only one. "I'm sorry." He choked the words out, then turned and fled. He charged back through the club, catching Matt's eye only long enough for his brother to know something wasn't quite how it had been before and then he left.

Matt knew that look in his brother's eyes. Something had fallen into place in his head. Something had clicked and he instinctively knew that it wasn't going to be good. This was just going to make things worse. Matt looked at the table. This had gone on long enough. That was the moment when the older Hardy brother began to plot. This was ending soon. He would not let them both be destroyed by this pointless torture. Enough now. Enough…but he was going to need help with this. He stood up and pulled out his cell, punching in a familiar number as he left the club.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: This chapter is a bit of a filler, but it felt kind of necessary. I hope you enjoy it, I loved writing this one, it has some of my favourite moments in it! Review if you get a minute :D**

The next city was Orlando, Florida. All the superstars and divas were like kids, planning to go to DisneyWorld as soon as they got the time. Sevina refused all the invitations to go. She wanted to focus on the fact that her storyline was about to take it's biggest twist yet. From her hotel she could see the towers of the Disney castle and she smiled a little, remembering the first time she'd come here with Matt and Jeff.

-----

"_Vina! Vina! Come here!" An orange haired Jeff was shouting at Sevina, who was preoccupied with staring at Mickey Mouse. Jeff sighed with exasperation and walked over to her. She looked at him, then back to Mickey. She nudged Jeff. "That's one big ass mouse." Jeff looked at the giant mouse and nodded slowly, as if taking in his size for the first time. "Yeah." Sevina then looked at him with wide eyes. "If a mouse that big ever shows up at my house…you're killing it."_

"_Dude! Have you seen the size of that thing?! No way! You can kill it! I'll be hiding in the bathroom!"_

"_Hell no!" They stood arguing about it for about five minutes before Matt had wandered over to them. "Where have you two been? I've been looking everywhere for you!" Sevina suddenly launched herself at Matt, who caught her on reflex as she clung to his neck, her legs supported by one arm and her waist supported by the other. Jeff followed her lead and ran around behind Matt, putting his hands on his shoulders and peering over at Mickey Mouse. Matt was seriously confused and looked at them both like they were insane. "What the fuck have you two been smoking?" Sevina clung to him tighter. "You have to save us from the giant killer mouse!" Jeff nodded fervently in agreement. Matt frowned and looked over at Mickey, then back to them. "Guys, that's Mickey."_

"_We know!" They both chorused. Matt shook his head and sighed a little. He should have been used to this by now really. "Alright. I'll save you from Mickey Mouse." Jeff and Sevina cheered. Sevina let Matt put her down and Jeff emerged from behind him. Matt opened his mouth to speak, when they both suddenly screamed and hugged each other, looking fearfully behind Matt. Matt turned, not sure what to expect, then smacked his forehead with his palm as Goofy walked past them. He scowled at his brother and their deranged friend. "Are you guys gonna do this all day?"_

_Sevina released Jeff and suddenly bounced off, calling back to them. "Come on! There's a stand where you can win huge bags of skittles!"_

"_Skittles!" Jeff immediately ran after her, throwing his arms around like a maniac. Matt rolled his eyes heavenward, praying for patience before trudging after them._

-----

Those had been happier times. Simpler times. Back then, Jeff had been her best friend and just that. There had been no weirdness between them. No pain. No unbearable, aching longing. It was strange really because the relationship that they had once been in had ended three months prior to that trip and it had never caused any friction. They'd been happy, pure and simple.

Sevina sighed and rubbed her eyes, before looking down at the script in front of her. She just needed to get this storyline out of the way and then she could try and figure out what was going on. Then maybe they could start to rebuild something. She knew that it would never be the same, but maybe they could repair some of the damage. Maybe she could then look back at the time she'd had with him and be grateful, be happy to have had that, instead of feeling the sharp pain and emptiness of remembering a time when the void inside of her had been filled. Before it had even existed.

She shoved down her thoughts and went back to what she was doing. Tonight was a huge night for her career. It would change everything now and in her future. She had to get it right. She had to be at her best.

-----

Sevina arrived at the arena early. Barely anyone else was there. Only the crew. They greeted her as she made her way through the huge trucks that carried the set from place to place. She smiled politely. She headed for her dressing room, having been told that she was going to get her own space this time. She found the room with her door on it and took a moment to admire the view, as her mind cast her back once again.

_-----_

_Sevina, Amy, Matt and Jeff were all stood in front of the door, examining it with interest. Matt and Jeff were looking smug, Sevina was looking critical and Amy looked simply amused. A few people passed, looking curiously at the odd scene. It was a door. They were just staring at it. Jeff moved and stroked the door. "It's so pretty." Matt followed, stroking the other side of it. "It really is. Don't you think, Kid?" Sevina pursed her lips thoughtfully, tilting her head this way and that as the brothers waited for her verdict, Amy was snickering quietly beside her. She then grinned and nodded. "It's pretty damn cool. Your first dressing room!" Amy grinned and nudged Sevina then bounced over to the boys._

_They all high-fived and made an obnoxious amount of celebratory noise, before resuming their previous position, with the exact same expressions as they looked at the name on the door which read 'The Hardy Boyz'. _

_-----_

Sevina sighed and hitched her bag higher on her shoulder, then shoved the door open, not giving the name another look. Matt and Jeff should have been here to share it with her. The fact that they weren't, turned the name plate into another injury, another pain. She threw her bag into the corner and sat down in front of the dresser, frowning at the mirror, which was lit all around with bright lights. Under the harsh lighting, she could see how pale she had become. She dropped her head into her hands and counted under her breath. She was nervous. Really nervous. Tonight was the biggest night of her career so far and she had no-one to help ease the anxiety, no-one to make her feel better.

Eventually, she forced herself to move. She wanted to get a look around the arena before people started arriving. She wanted to see what she was up against. Tonight, the crowd were almost her enemy. They were the people who were going to be watching her every move. If she didn't convince them, she might as well walk out and never come back.


	22. Chapter 22

Sevina stood at the gorilla position, behind the curtain and hopped up and down, shaking her hands. She wasn't dressed in her usual in-ring attire. She was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a white skinny tee. Tonight also introduced her new entrance music and video, which had been carefully complied by the creative department. She was nervous. Really, really nervous. Her insides were doing back flips and she could feel her hands sweating in her fingerless gloves. She tipped her head back and shut her eyes, shaking her hands again and dancing on the spot, jumping from one foot to the other. She let her breath out in a long, slow release and tried to calm the shaking which was running through her. She smiled as one of the crew handed her a microphone and then she looked out, setting her resolve. This was it.

At that point, Bad Romance by Lady Gaga hit and her new video began to play. The crowd were cheering more loudly than she could ever remember. Where they always that loud? She had no time to think about it as she burst into the arena. She didn't do her usual entrance, but rather kept her face in a tight, determined mask as she stalked down to the ring. She paused on the apron, before ducking under the second rope. She walked to the centre and simply stood there, waiting for the crowd to quieten. When they had, she lifted the mic to her mouth and began to speak. "First off, I wanna thank, each and every person in this audience, every one who is watching at home and all the people who have sent their support for what has been going on over the last couple of months." She paused, letting the crowd cheer, bowing her head. She then sighed and lifted her head again, addressing the rapt audience. "As you all know, Kane and The Undertaker have been haunting my every move. Trying to force me to do something that I don't want to do and tonight, I am here to send them a message. I am not afraid of you! I am not going to be intimidated!" The crowd again cheered loudly, stamping and clapping, supporting her statement.

At that moment, Slow Chemical hit the arena and everyone held their breath. All eyes turned to the ramp, but Kane wasn't there. It was only when Sevina turned and their eyes followed her, that they saw Kane was in the ring, having come from nowhere. Sevina let out an exclamation of surprise and dropped her mic, backing away from the monster in front of her. Kane looked at her silently, before lifting his own microphone. "I think, you must have misunderstood me last week. I think you must have thought we were giving you a choice. You don't have a choice, Sevina!" He advanced on her but stopped short, seeming to become thoughtful, before grinning and laughing. "How's Jeff?" Sevina frowned at him and shook her head, clearly terrified, despite what she had said. Her face showed her trying to gather her courage. She slowly reached down and picked up her mic, lifting it tentatively. "It wont work, Kane! I spoke to Jeff five minutes before I came out here. I know that he's okay."

Kane laughed and then lunged for her. She screamed as he grabbed her hair and forced her to turn and face the titantron. He spoke again, his voice sickening in it's malicious glee. "You mean…this call?" Nothing came on the titantron, but the sound of a phone conversation could be clearly heard from the speakers.

"_Jeff? Hey, you okay?"_

"_Sevina…I'm fine."_

"_You sure? I just wanted to make sure…with everything that's been going on."_

"_I'm fine. Call me later."_

"_Um…okay."_

"_Bye."_

The sound of a dial tone filled the arena before cutting out. Kane then began to laugh again, yanking harder on Sevina's hair, before pointing with his free hand to the titantron. "Look." The screen suddenly lit up. It was the same room that had shown last week and again, Matt was strapped to the office chair. His face was even more of a mess now. Then the camera pulled out to show an identical chair beside his, this one holding Jeff. Sevina began to struggle against Kane, screaming at him, trying to lash out at him, but he tightened his grip on her hair, causing her to gasp in pain. "I told you that there was no choice!" Kane suddenly released her, throwing her forwards so that she had to grab onto the ropes to stay upright. He paced away from her, addressing the audience. "Don't you all want to know?! Don't you want to know what she's hiding?!" He was answered by boos, but there was a definitely crackle of curiosity in the air. For all that the fans were on Sevina's side, they wanted to know what she was hiding.

He turned and looked at Sevina, who was still clutching the ropes tightly, staring at him with wide eyes. He moved towards her and she flinched. He stopped and then held his arms out to the side as if waiting for something. Sevina shook her head. He advanced on her again and grabbed her arm. She spat right in his eye. She would have to apologise for that later. He let out a bellow of fury and back-handed her across the face, sending her down onto the mat. The crowd didn't like that. They booed and shouted insults at him. Sevina touched a hand to her cheek and looked up at him. Slowly, she dragged herself to her feet, lowering her hand from her face and lifting her microphone. "I'm not telling you anything!" She glared at him, defiant. He let out a sigh, as if she were irritating him. He then looked at the titantron and spoke in what sounded like a very false, regretful tone. "Then, you force my hand."

Sevina followed his gaze to the screen and watched as The Undertaker suddenly came into view. In his hand was a piece of solid two-by-four. He tapped Jeff's cheek with it, causing the bound and gagged superstar and struggle and try to get free, glaring at the Phenom with venom in his eyes. The Undertaker suddenly lifted the piece of wood, with the clear intent of bringing it down across the younger Hardy brother's face. He swung with force. "NO!" He stopped, inches away from hitting Jeff, whose eyes had closed tight, waiting for the blow. Sevina was staring at the screen, one hand out-stretched, the other holding her microphone. Kane looked at her, glared at her. "Tell them the truth! Tell them your secret!"

Sevina looked at him, with a pleading gaze. "I can't! Please! I can't!" There was no mercy in Kane's face and he looked at the screen again. "Then watch him suffer for your crimes!" Suddenly The Undertaker started beating Jeff with the wood, hitting him over and over, splitting his skin, causing him to howl in pain behind the gag. Jeff was powerless to fight back. "No! Stop it! Stop it!" Sevina's pleas went ignored, Kane watched the screen with glee in his face. His hands had hold of Sevina again, gripping her tightly, forcing her to watch. She fought against him, tears streaming down her face. "Alright! Alright!" The Undertaker's attack stopped as abruptly as it had started, with the Phenom still not saying anything or even acknowledging the camera. Kane looked at Sevina, tilting his head. "What was that?" He released her and she backed away from him. Her eyes went frantically from him, to the screen. "Alright. I'll tell them."

Kane grinned and stepped back, giving her the majority of the ring space. She glared at him, but he just watched her, waiting. She looked at the crowd, then back at the screen. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, before opening her mouth and letting it pour out.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Thank you to I Luv Hardy, Musichick06 and DragonMoonStone for your reviews. It's because of you that I keep writing :)**

She stared at the crowd, her heart was hammering in her chest. This was the make or break moment of her career and somehow she had to sell it. She took a deep breath, feeling her voice shake as she forced it out. "I…I didn't make it into the WWE because of my talent…I made it into the WWE because…" She paused, looking at Kane, who straightened up threateningly in response to her hesitation. She continued, passing a hand over her eyes. "Because of my history. I have…two brothers. Two, older brothers and they…they're wrestlers for the WWE. When I came here, it was because of them, but I didn't want anyone to know. I wanted to make it on my own…not just that…I was ashamed. I don't want to be like them! I don't want to be that person! I'm not that person!"

She glared defiantly at Kane, but backed up as he advanced on her. He was glaring right back at her, clearly not happy with the way she had worded her confession. "Tell them the rest! Tell them the truth! Let them see what you really are!" Sevina looked at him, her breath coming in gasps. She stalled, hesitating, but Kane made a threatening move towards her again and she lifted the microphone back to her lips. "My _brothers.."_ She said the word 'brothers' as if it were disgusting to her somehow. "My brothers are…monsters. My brothers are…Kane and The Undertaker." Her voice broke as she said their names and for a moment, there was deafening silence in the crowd, before the noise began. Before the screaming and the confusion, the chaos that this announcement caused. The commentary reflected it.

_Did you hear that?!_

_I did and I am speechless! Sevina is the younger sister of Kane and The Undertaker!_

_How did that happen?! And more to the point; how did she keep it a secret for so long?!_

_I don't know, but I am very interested to find out what happens next! Where does she go from here? _

In the ring, Sevina and Kane were simply looking at each other. Sevina's expression was drawn and broken, whilst Kane's was triumphant. He lifted his microphone again, quieting the agitated audience. "So, now do you see? Now do you understand? This woman that you have adored and admired…is nothing, but a monster!" Sevina flinched and shook her head, denying his words. Kane then got out of the ring, grabbing a steel chair. Sevina stepped back fearfully as he re-entered the space, but all he did was unfold it and sit on it, looking at her. "I want a front row seat to your downfall. To the downfall of everything you have claimed to be." Sevina looked at him, her hands curled into fists. She then raised her microphone slowly, fire and anger in her expression. "I'm a monster? Why? Because my brothers are? Because _you_ are?!" She shook her head, turning her back to him, speaking into the air, with a thoughtful voice. "Maybe…maybe you're right. But if I'm a monster, then I am strong enough… to take you down!" As the last four words left her mouth, she suddenly spun, dropping her mic and her foot lashed out. Her boot impacted with Kane's face, knocking him from the chair. She wasted no time grabbing the chair and snapping it closed. As he began to lift himself from the mat, she climbed to the top turnbuckle and stood there, looking down at him. He raised himself to his feet and turned to face her. They just stared at one another for a moment and it was clear from his expression that he didn't think she had the guts to attack him again. Sevina proved him wrong. She jumped from the turnbuckle, bringing the chair down over his head, knocking him down with force until he lay, unmoving on the canvas below.

She stood over him, looking at him with an expression none of the fans had seen on her face before, it was raw, unadulterated hatred. She threw the chair to one side, then turned and left the ring. She did not make eye contact with anyone as she moved up the ramp and once she was through the curtain and out of the public view, she fell against the nearest wall and put her hands over her face, letting out a long, ragged breath of relief. She'd done it. It was over and all she had to do now was wait and see what happened next. This storyline was far from finished, but she'd survived the scariest part.

She looked up to see Glen, rolling off the stretcher he had been carried from the ring on. He grinned at her as he walked over. He could see how white she had become and she was very clearly shaking from the adrenalin. He engulfed her in a huge hug, picking her clean off the ground and spinning her around. Sevina couldn't help but laugh, though the sound was bordering on hysterical. She couldn't believe she'd done it. She couldn't believe she'd made it through without dropping character or letting on how nervous she was.

Glen set her down carefully, looking into her face with an almost proud expression. Sevina smiled at him, then looked a little sheepish. "Sorry about the…spitting thing." Glen laughed and shook his head. "All part of the job. You did great." Sevina was beaming at him, with another pair of arms grabbed her and spun her around. She pushed back to see who it was, then laughed and threw her arms around him. "Mark!" Mark, Matt and Jeff had filmed their sequence in advance of the taping so had the evening free. Sevina grinned at him as he set her back down. He patted the top of her head in a patronising way. "Nice work, Kiddo." Sevina wrinkled her nose and then bit her lip. She had two very good friends here with her, but they weren't the ones she wanted to see. Where the hell were Matt and Jeff? She frowned a little, but quickly shrugged it off. Glen and Mark were both still looking at her. "Listen, I better go change. I'll see you at the hotel for a drink, okay?" They both nodded as she waved and jogged back to her dressing room. She shoved the door open, deep in thought, then screamed. "Holy sweet fucking Jesus!" The curse left her mouth before she could catch it, as Matt suddenly launched himself at her from nowhere. She didn't have time to register anything as he was suddenly hugging her fiercely. She could hear laughter and then realised it was coming from her. It was a real, true laugh and one that felt so strange because of it's recent absence.

Matt finally released her and she looked beyond him to see Jeff stood a few feet away. She felt a swoop of new anxiety, not sure what his reaction would be, not sure she could take him ignoring her. His arms were folded, but there was amusement on his face. He nodded behind her, a smirk growing on his lips. "Nice door." Sevina looked at the door, which was still open, showing the nameplate and then back to Jeff. She grinned. She didn't care that she was still mad at him, or whatever else had gone on. That didn't matter because for the moment at least, he was her friend again. He was the Jeff she loved. Matt then announced that she had to hurry up and get ready because they were going out to celebrate immediately.

Sevina rolled her eyes, but did as she was told and her heart felt lighter than it had in a long time. She knew it wouldn't last, but she didn't care. For now, it was enough.

**A/N: So, the big secret it out! Buuuuuuuut...this is not the last twist..there's an even bigger one to come and to find out what it is, you'll just have to keep reading! :D Please review! :D**


	24. Chapter 24

Sevina managed to convince Matt to let her go back to her hotel room to put on something more suitable than her jeans and sweater. She promised to meet him and Jeff in the lobby in ten minutes. She then ran up to her room and dug around in her suitcase. She settled on a fairly short black and blue tartan skirt with a thick, black belt. A long, bright blue, form hugging top with thick straps and a square neckline and finished it off with a pair of high heeled black boots. She looked at herself in the mirror, grimacing slightly and applied the lightest touches of make-up; mascara and a pale pink lipstick. She was satisfied that she looked presentable and then left her room, grabbing her purse which contained her cell and keys.

She jogged down the stairs and into the lobby. Matt grinned at her, Jeff was silent, looking at her with a mixture of thoughtfulness and slight surprise, as if he had just realised something. Sevina titled her head at him curiously, but he didn't speak. Matt draped an arm over her shoulders and pointed to the doors. "To the club!" Sevina laughed and let him lead her out. Jeff followed a little behind them, watching Sevina closely. The outfit she'd chosen, whether consciously or not, was almost exactly the same as one she'd been wearing the first time he'd met her. He hadn't really paid all that much attention then, but he'd remembered it. His mind had stored it, even if he hadn't known why at the time. She'd only been eighteen when Jeff had met her for the first time. He'd been twenty-two.

She was just graduating high school and had joined Omega. She'd known Matt for two years by that point because she'd been regularly coming to Omega, but Matt refused to let her participate in matches without parental permission because she'd still been a minor. Jeff had been instantly intrigued by her energy when they'd first met. She was inexhaustible and she never stopped talking. She was one of the few female wrestlers he'd met who could talk and wrestle at the same time without breaking focus. She hadn't gotten along with Amy when they'd met, not at first. She had been suspicious of her, she was protective of Matt. They two had become firm friends over time, though and would often kick Matt and Jeff out so that they could hang out alone. When Amy had left their group, Sevina had been a little lost without her, but accepted the fact that it was one of those things that had had it's time and that they all needed to move on from.

Jeff tried to shake off the memories as they arrived at the club. He was more suitably dressed for the venue this time, in a pair of new, boot cut black jeans with bright red stitching and a tailored navy blue shirt with the Hardy Boyz logo emblazoned on the back. Once they were inside, Sevina was instantly swamped. Everyone they worked with wanted to talk to her, to congratulate her on her performance and express their indignation at not being told what was going to happen. Matt and Jeff went to the bar, leaving her to it, but both kept their eyes on her. She looked different to how she had the last few weeks. She looked happy, like something was lighting her from within and it didn't take a genius to figure out what it was. Her eyes regularly found Jeff's and whilst they both knew that this truce would end, for tonight, he was hers and she was his. As they had always been.

Matt watched them both. He looked at his brother, who had yet to tear his eyes away from Sevina. He paid for their drinks and wordlessly handed Jeff his. In a total contrast to the last time they'd been out, Jeff took a very slow, small sip of the beer, before lowering the bottle again. His eyes were still fixed on Sevina, who was now dancing with Mark. A smile tugged at Jeff's lips as he watched them laughing at each other. Matt sighed a little and leaned towards Jeff so that he could talk to him over the music. "If you were any more see-through, you might as well be made of glass." Jeff jumped and frowned at Matt, who just shrugged. "Go talk to her, Jeff. This might be your only chance." Jeff shook his head and turned his eyes back towards Sevina, she was dancing with Maria now and as he watched, Drew McIntyre cut in. That set Jeff off. Matt hid a smirk as his younger brother all but slammed his beer down on the bar and headed into the crowd. His hand came down firmly on Drew's shoulder, only moments after he had stepped closer to Sevina. "D'you mind?" His smile was wide, but false. Drew seemed to sense the danger and had a feeling he knew what would happen if he refused, so he smiled at Sevina and fell back.

Sevina lifted her eyebrows at Jeff, but smiled. That smile turned into a laugh as Jeff started one of his infamous dances, right there in the middle of the club. All awkwardness pushed aside, she shook her head and put her hands on the top of his arms to stop him. She shook her head and took one of his hands, moving it to rest lightly on her hip, the other she moved to rest on her back, bringing her body in line with Jeff's. Only at this point, as she looked up at him, their bodies so close together, did the first alarm bells start ringing within Sevina. She shouldn't be doing this. She thought she saw her own conflict, flash through Jeff's eyes, but it was gone instantly as they both started moving in time with the music.

Jeff was aware of the exact opposite feeling as when he'd last been in this situation with someone. Where that woman's body had felt all wrong against his own, Sevina's felt right. She seemed to mould into him perfectly, making him just want to pull her even closer. He resisted that urge. For just one night, he wanted them to go back to how they were. He wanted to be here to celebrate with her, to watch as it sunk in that she had succeeded. He wanted to be the friend she needed him to be. The friend she had begged him to turn back into. She smiled up at him, then stood on the tips of her toes to talk to him, having to get close to his ear to be heard. With her mouth so close, his felt a shiver pass through him and was sure she must have felt it as well. "See? Sometimes, simple is better, Jeffro."

She had felt the shudder pass through his body when she'd gotten close and felt a thrill of danger and excitement because of it. Had she done that? Or was it wishful thinking? Was she making a mistake, letting herself get this close to him? How much pain was this going to cost her when he was gone again? She didn't want to think about that. For now, she just wanted to let it all go. They could go back to ignoring each other later.

The song ended too soon and as much as Jeff wanted to keep hold of her, tonight was very much about her and there were so many others who wanted her. So many hands reaching out to draw her away from him. He let her go and imagined he was his own disappointment mirrored in her eyes. He made his way back to Matt, politely brushing off a young woman, who stepped into his path. His brother was talking to Mark, but looked up when Jeff approached. "Hey. Beer?" He handed Jeff his beer. Jeff smiled and took it, then looked at Mark and couldn't restrain the grin on his face. Now here was someone he had a lot of respect for. They shook hands and instantly began reliving the more epic moments of their ladder match. Jeff had been the young, punk kid at the time, Mark had been the All-American Badass incarnation of The Undertaker. Match made in hell. Jeff had genuinely earned Mark's respect that night through his sheer willingness to put his body on the line to entertain his fans.

Matt listened to them, though he'd heard it all at least a hundred times before. Jeff was exceptionally proud of his match against Mark and always put it up there with the highlights of his career, even though he had lost. None of them were sure how long they'd been talking for when Sevina suddenly stumbled into view. She was laughing, slightly out of breath and she caught hold of Mark's arm. The familiarity and easiness of the touch, caused Jeff's eyes to tighten slightly. She looked up at the excessively tall man. "Mark! You have to tell Glen to stop dancing! He's….he's gonna cause a riot." She spoke through her laughter, tugging on Mark's arm. Mark laughed and nodded, then wandered off to find his friend and put a stop to his antics. Sevina watched him, then leant against the bar, brushing her hair from her eyes.

Matt looked at Jeff for a moment, then at Sevina. "Hey, Kid. Having fun?" Sevina nodded and grinned at him, then moved so that she was stood in front of them both and hugged them impulsively at the same time, one arm around each of their necks. She let go a few moments later and looked between them. "If it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't be here."

"How many drinks have you had?" Matt teased and Sevina laughed again and punched his arm. "I'm serious!" Matt grinned and hooked an arm around her neck, dragging her into his side so he could kiss the top of her head. "We wouldn't have missed this, Vina. Not for anything." He looked at Jeff, who just nodded in agreement. Sevina patted Matt's stomach, then grabbed his hand. "Dance with me!" He refused, but she didn't listen, dragging him out onto the dance floor. He continued to protest, but Sevina wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.

Jeff watched them, lifting his bottle to his lips. He refused a few offers to dance and didn't really feel like making conversation with anyone. His eyes were utterly focused on Sevina. For this night only, he could have her back in his life and he could pretend that he hadn't screwed up any chance they ever had of being something more. His found his mind casting him back to the day that his very brief relationship with Sevina had ended.

-----

"_Jeff? Can we talk?" Sevina looked at him with a serious expression and Jeff knew this wouldn't be good. He nodded none-the-less and let her take his hand and lead him to the back yard of her house. She said nothing as she sat down on the swing bench, pulling him down beside her. Jeff looked at their interlinked hands, frowning slightly. Sevina's voice drew his gaze back to her face. "Look at me. Please." He obliged, still frowning. The hand that wasn't holding onto his came up to run over his face, as if trying to smooth the frown away. "Jeff, I love you. You're my best friend and this…relationship, has been amazing." They'd been dating for six months and everything had been going perfectly. Jeff adored her and she was equally attentive in return, he did everything she could possibly want him to do, but on some level both of them knew it wasn't quite right. Not yet._

_Jeff sighed and took the hand that was touching his face. He smiled at her and brought her fingers up to his mouth, kissing them lightly. "I know, Vina. It's okay. I understand." Sevina was frowning, worried that she had hurt him. Worried that things wouldn't be right between them anymore. Jeff didn't like seeing that fear in her eyes and he sought to soothe it away. "Sevina, we're cool. Don't worry. We had fun though, right?" Sevina smiled, unable not to when he was grinning at her and she nodded. They had talked for a while, watching the sun set over the back of the house. Talking had turned to teasing and it had ended with Sevina running away from him as he chased her with the water hose. That was when the friendship had really started. That was when the expectations of one another had fallen away and as bizarre as it seemed it retrospect, the day they broke up, was the day Jeff had started falling in love with her._

-----

Jeff didn't regret how it had ended. At the time it had been the right thing to do. He only regretted that he had now let her slip from his grasp. He watched her, laughing and talking with Matt and couldn't understand how things had fallen apart, so quickly and so totally. All his efforts to protect her from him, had ended up causing them both pain, but why? Why had she not moved on as he had expected her to? What was she holding on for?

He couldn't answer these questions and he saw no reason to keep trying. It didn't matter. Not right now.


	25. Chapter 25

The whole night was going extremely well. Jeff and Sevina started bickering, much to everyone's amusement. All of the friends Sevina had made on SmackDown noticed that something was different in her, something was freer, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. All the worry they'd had, about her being engulfed by her on-screen persona and burning out, seemed eased. She was riding the high of her performance and taking strength from the friends that surrounded her.

It was the early hours of the morning before people began to leave. Matt had seemingly vanished and Jeff and Sevina found themselves alone at the bar. They were still bickering, but at some point in the argument had made the decision that they should head back to the hotel. Jeff lay an arm over Sevina's shoulders and they both walked out, a little worse for wear under alcohol consumption, but cheerful with it. The hotel was only a ten minute walk away so neither was worried about how far they had to go. It was quite cold, given that it was mid-March and Sevina shivered a little. Jeff, being the hero and quite drunk, promptly pulled off his shirt and put it over her shoulders. "You'll freeze!" Jeff laughed and shook his head. "Nope. I am Jeff! Un-freezable!"

"That's not even a word."

"It is now.

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not!"

"Is too! Anyway!" Jeff cut her off before she could argue further. "How come you stopped dating that Drew guy?" Sevina wrinkled her nose, even slightly intoxicated, she knew better than to tell the truth. "Well, he wears socks in bed and you know how I feel about socks in bed."

"Ah, yes. Nothing worse that the feel of someone else's starched, cotton socks against your leg in the night…wait! How do you know he wears socks in bed?!" Sevina laughed and shook her head, nudging him. "He told me." Jeff made a silent "Oh." He put his arm over Sevina again as they walked and they were both silent for a few moments, before Jeff suddenly exclaimed; "Shit! It's cold!" Sevina had to stop, she was laughing too much to continue. Jeff watched her, pouting sulkily until she stopped. She then pulled his shirt off her shoulders and held it out to him. He sniffed and folded his arms. "Don't want it now." Sevina narrowed her eyes and him and backed up a few steps. It took him a little longer than usual to figure out what she was up to and he let out a cry of alarm as she suddenly took a running jump at him. They both fell to the ground, but neither seemed to care all that much. Sevina was too busy trying to force Jeff's arms into his shirt. "No! No! Nooo! You'll never take me alive!! Rape! Rape! Heeeeelp! Crazy lady with a shirt! Help!" Sevina was trying to hold him down, whilst laughing, as he fought and struggled. This resulted in the shirt, tearing right up the middle. They both stopped dead and looked at it, then burst out laughing again. Jeff took the opportunity to turn the tables, spinning Sevina so that her back was on the pavement and her arms were pinned either side of her head. He grinned at her. "I win." She pouted at him, pulling on his hold, but finding that it just caused the back of her wrists to scrape against the cold, hard ground. She looked at him and tilted her head a little, as if asking to be released, but he just looked at her.

They were both a little out of breath from their fight and the world seemed to grind to a very unexpected halt. Sevina saw something close to surprise register on Jeff's face before his mouth was suddenly on hers. She didn't fight him, but rather kissed him back as if her life depended on it. The kiss was almost desperate, as if each were trying to get as much as they could of the other, knowing that this might be the last chance. Jeff tasted of alcohol and cold air and it sent chills through Sevina's skin. She didn't know why she didn't push him away, she knew it would cause her pain later, but she couldn't find the will to care. His bare skin seemed to burn through her clothes with a searing heat, despite the cold weather and caused an extreme contrast with the cold of the ground under her back.

It ended quite abruptly and Jeff pulled away, moving to rest his forehead against hers. His breathing was ragged and his eyes were closed. "I'm sorry." He didn't sound sorry, not in the slightest. He moved back and opened his eyes to look at Sevina, but she just shook her head, smiling wryly. "Don't be." Jeff frowned a little, wondering what she meant by that, but her voice distracted him again. "Um…not to totally kill the moment, but…it's really cold down here." Jeff laughed and the tension was broken, the moment was over. He stood up and helped her to her feet. They headed back to the hotel, arriving midway through an impromptu chorus of Sevina's new entrance song. They drew some strange looks from the overnight staff, but just laughed it off. Jeff walked Sevina to her room and they both hesitated outside.

Sevina frowned at him, leaning on the door. "So…what happens now?" Jeff sighed and lowered his eyes, Sevina took all the information she needed from that. She nodded and ground her teeth together. "I see." Jeff's eyes flicked back to hers, but all the fun was gone from her face, replaced by the emptiness he had grown to know so well. "Sevina, I.."

"You don't have to explain. You made your choice. I get it. Thanks for being there tonight." She meant it. She was grateful that he'd decided to give her this night. That he'd been able to fight back his very obvious distaste for her, long enough to give her one last night with her friend. "Goodnight, Jeff." She turned and unlocked the door, unable to look at him anymore. He said nothing, not fighting back as she left him. He watched the door close behind her and stood for a long time, just staring at it. He'd been justifying this by telling himself that he was doing the right thing, that she would be better without him in her life, but now, now he was doubting it and the first inkling that he may have made a grave mistake was starting to trouble his mind. He'd known what he was doing when he kissed her. And she had kissed him back. She hadn't pushed him away in disgust as she had the previous times, she'd welcomed the embrace as much as he had…maybe….maybe…

-----

Sevina changed slowly and carefully scrubbed all traces of her make up away, even though there had been hardly any there to start with. She combed her hair three times before acknowledging that she couldn't stall the inevitable anymore. With a heavy sigh, she climbed into bed, curled into a ball and threaded her hands into her hair as it finally hit her. The pain was worse than it had ever been before and her head felt like it was going to explode. She sobbed silently into her pillow, not letting a single noise escape her as the grief wracked her body. She took it without question, she didn't try and fight it off. She had earned this. Well and truly.

She waited for it to ebb enough that she would sleep, but it didn't go away. It didn't recede and by the time the sun came up, she was drained. She was left with a feeling of nothing. Like emptiness has replaced her emotions. She was exhausted. Not just from the lack of sleep, but from the sheer intensity of the pain. She dragged herself out of bed, much earlier than was necessary and took a couple of aspirins to try and ease her headache. After that, she went through the motions of normality, falling back into the dead routine she had been clinging to for so long, trying to numb the agony with distraction. She didn't see Jeff again that day. Nor did she see him on the plane to Ohio. When they arrived, it was as if nothing had ever happened. As if that night had just been a very vivid dream. Jeff was silent through their briefing from the creative department. The only time they talked was to rehearse their lines and then they went their separate ways.

-----

Matt was furious at them both. Jeff had told him about the kiss, he'd told him everything and then he'd told him that things weren't going to change because of it. He'd really reached his limit of patience with them both and the plan that had been loosely formed in his mind solidified. He was not going to sit back and watch this anymore. He refused. He loved them both too much to be a mere witness to their downfall. His only worry was that it had gone on too long already, that the threads of what they could have been, may have been severed. He refused to give up, though. Matt wasn't accustomed to playing match maker and of course, he added his own unique style to proceedings.

He said nothing to either of them about what he was plotting. This was strictly between himself and the three other people who needed to know. This was going to do one of two things; it would either be a complete success or it would fail monumentally and neither of them would ever speak to him again, but it was worth that risk. If it meant he could see his brother smile again, then he would do it. If it meant that things could be normal again, he would do it.

**A/N: Oooh, what is Matt planning?...You know how to find out! Keep reading! Please review :D**


	26. Chapter 26

That week, Sevina did not attend any house shows, nor did she appear on the taping of SmackDown and was conspicuous by her absence. Her lack of appearance, had the fans asking where she was and what was going on. Matt and Jeff both appeared but said nothing about their absent friend. The confusion and curiosity built and built over her absence. The following week, the crowd fell silent as Jeff walked to the ring. He was dressed in a plain, grey shirt and a pair of casual jeans. He stood in the centre of the ring and looked out over the audience, before lifting his mic. "You all saw what happened here two weeks ago. You all know what was revealed. For those who don't, let me fill you in. Two weeks ago, it came out that Sevina, is the younger sister of Kane and The Undertaker. I know, this came as a shock. I know that none of you know what to think. Sevina hasn't been seen since. My brother Matt and myself were released and neither of us have seen or heard from her. I am here tonight to appeal to you, as her fans and the people she lives to entertain. I believe that she is worried about what you will all think of her, so I am here to ask you not to judge her too harshly. You may feel betrayed because she kept this secret, but I hope that you are able to see the reasons why. Kane and The Undertaker are mindless, vicious monsters, who stop at nothing to get what they want. Sevina is not like that. She's-" He was cut off as the Bad Romance suddenly hit and Sevina's video played.

Jeff frowned and turned towards the ramp. Sevina walked out, amidst loud cheers, but it was instantly clear that this was not the Sevina they knew. She was dressed in a pair of black leather pants, a black satin corset, with scarlet stitching and laces. Her hair was pure black, but for a single streak of scarlet running through the front, at the right. Even her make-up was different. She wore thick, black eyeliner, surrounded by a dark, blood red. Her lips had no colour at all, blending into the rest of her skin. She looked at Jeff and he looked back at her, confusion on his face. Sevina turned her gaze on the crowd. She did not head towards the ring, but rather stayed at the top of the ramp. When her eyes finally landed back on Jeff, she lifted her microphone and began to speak. Her voice was dead of all emotion. "Thank you, Jeff. I appreciate your reasons for coming out here, for speaking up for me, but it's not necessary. Since I was here last, I've done a lot of thinking and I've come to some decisions. I wronged my brothers by denying them, by shutting them out of my life. Family comes first, you taught me that. So, it's them I'll be supporting from now on. I don't expect you to understand. I don't particularly care. I want nothing more to do with you."

Shock rippled through the fans as they turned to Jeff. His face was drawn, shocked and disbelieving. "Sevina, you don't have to do this…"

"Yes, I do. I want to. My time with you was fun, but it was a joke. It was a lie. I am sick and tired of pretending to be something I'm not."

"You're not like them!"

"Yes, I am!" Sevina glared at Jeff with cold fury in her eyes. She then turned and walked away. The cameras turned to Jeff, who waited a few moments, before taking off after her. The cameras followed Sevina as she walked back to her dressing room. She walked inside and shut the door, revealing Kane and The Undertaker, waiting for her. She looked at them and Kane grinned as he approached her. "Very good, little sister." He reached out to touch her face, but she slapped his hand away, glaring at him. "I hate you." He just laughed and grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him. "Careful. They're only safe, as long as you stay with us." The cameras cut out after that and Glen released Sevina's face, smiling apologetically. "Did I hurt you?" Sevina rolled her eyes at him, smiled and shook her head. "You ask me that every time. No. You didn't." She patted his arm, received a swift, one-armed hug from Mark and then left as they'd known she would. She never seemed to stay in one place for very long anymore.

She bumped into Matt as she left, swearing as she all but bounced off him. He put his hand on her arm to steady her. "You okay, Kid?" Sevina nodded and shrugged. Matt frowned at her a little and tilted his head. "Have you seen Jeff?" Sevina fixed him with a hard look, then shook her head, before excusing herself and walking away. She wanted to just get back to the hotel, go to the gym for an hour and then immerse herself in answering her fan mail. The good thing about getting so many letters was that, no matter how long she spent doing it, there was always more to do. It was one of the more certain ways she had of keeping herself distracted.

Matt watched her go, still frowning. She was getting worse. Anyone could see it. She wasn't even bothering to try and hide it anymore. She didn't talk to anyone, she didn't even try and be normal. She worked and she slept. That was it. This was getting too much. If it carried on much longer she really was going to burn out. A person's mind is only built to withstand so much stress. Sevina may not have realised it, but her behaviour was putting her career in serious jeopardy. Matt had spoken to Vince that night on the phone and been asked to intervene on Sevina's behalf because if she dropped ten more pounds in weight, she would not be allowed to wrestle. Matt would bet anything that she didn't even realise her weight had dropped that far.

He sighed and shook his head, wandering off to try and find his brother. At the moment, he wasn't sure which of them was worse. They both seemed to be wrapped up in a perpetual cloud of depression. Jeff had always been popular amongst the other superstars, his charisma and strong work ethic made people automatically drawn to him, but now everyone seemed to be avoiding him. Not because they disliked him, but because he just seemed to give off the kind of vibe that told people he didn't want company. Jeff wasn't normally anti-social, he had always had times when he would shut himself off and he was terrible for brooding, but he had always made an effort to interact with people.

Matt could easily remember when that had started happening. Jeff was naturally introverted when it came to his personal life. He had a select group of friends who saw him as he was, but with everyone else he was different. Not shy, but cautious. Jeff's mind would weave out the most intricate theories, always second guessing himself and everyone else. This made it hard for him to trust people, to get close to them. He'd changed one day, as if he'd woken up and a light bulb had gone off in his head. It was difficult for him to interact, but that was no reason that he shouldn't do it. He began pushing himself, testing his limits, making himself talk to people that he would normally have avoided. He dropped his barriers and that was the turning point for him. That was when he had started to figure out who he was, who he wanted to be.

It was one of the things that Matt admired most about his brother; the sheer strength of his resolve. His determination to not be the person that some kind of weird nature had dictated he should be. Jeff had always been the kind of person to fight the establishment, to fight the norm, but most of the time, he was simply fighting himself.

Sevina was similar, but at the same time completely different. She had been suppressed most of her life, taught that what she wanted, should never be voiced because it would get her into trouble. When Matt had met her, she'd been a really angry kid. Probably the angriest sixteen year old he'd ever met, but she had a kind of raw talent, a possibility, just waiting to be moulded into something more. He wouldn't let her take part in matches, but she hung around until he agreed to let her practise at Omega. He'd watched her closely. She was volatile, prone to outbursts of irrational anger. More than once she had lost it and actually hurt someone, not badly, but caused a few concussions and one broken leg. Still, there was something magnetic about her, something that made you want to stick up for her, to give her what she needed to reach the potential she was capable of. When he'd first met her, Matt had often wondered what would become of her, if she had been nurtured, instead of having her dreams pressed down,

Back then, he had honestly not thought she would make it. She was too unpredictable and had poor control of her temper. It had been quite sad to watch because she worked hard, probably harder than any of the others, but watching her then, was to feel a certain sense of resignation. To recognise a talent that would go to waste because she would never be able to handle the pressure of professional wrestling. What neither Matt or anyone, could have anticipated, was what would happen when Sevina met Jeff. It was like, something had opened up inside of her and let out a whole other side to her character that none of them had ever realised was there. She was still volatile, but she had hilarious bouts of mischief and she and Jeff were usually dragging one another into trouble. She stopped walking away when she'd done something wrong and started putting her hands up, facing it and apologising. She learned more in those first few months of friendship with Jeff, than she had in the two years Matt had known her previously.

Matt frowned at the thought. Her behaviour now, her outbursts, running alongside her self-imposed isolation were so similar to how they had been before she'd met Jeff. That incarnation of Sevina was never going to be able to handle life in the WWE. So what would happen if she went back to that? Would the inevitable burn-out occur? Would everything she'd worked so hard for, fall apart? He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

He found Jeff, sitting on a crate, listening to his ipod. Matt watched him for a moment. He was leaning back, his eyes closed and his head tilted back. His fingers were moving absently, as if itching it play along to the music on his guitar. Matt walked over and grabbed the wire, yanking it lightly to pull the earbuds out. "Hey." Jeff jumped a little, then turned the ipod off and looked at his brother. "Hey, man."

Matt moved to sit on the grate next to him, folding his arms loosely. "You alright?" Jeff nodded, slowly wrapping the earphones around the ipod, concentrating on it like it was the most important and delicate task in the world. "Wanna talk about it?" Jeff shook his head in response this time, slipping the ipod into his pocket before looking at Matt. He smiled in a slightly self mocking way. "Nothing to talk about." Matt rolled his eyes, but he wasn't about to have this argument with Jeff again.

"Come on. Let's go back to the hotel." Jeff didn't argue and followed his brother's lead as he stood up. He felt bad, not giving Matt much by way of reassurance, but he just couldn't find the words to explain how he was feeling, or what was going on in his head. His mind had always been busy, always over thinking everything, but it was just chaos at the moment. Nothing made much sense. He couldn't tell Matt even if he wanted to because he honestly didn't know. He kept getting the weird sensation that he'd forgotten something important, or lost something that he needed. He'd find himself looking around, searching, before realising that he had no idea what he was looking for.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/NThis chapter's been in my head for a while and I thought this was a right place to put it. I really enjoyed writing this one and I hope you guys enjoy it too :)**

"_Sevina, come on. Smile for the camera!"_

"_Fuck you, Matt. Get that thing away from me."_

"_Oh come on, Kid. It's for THS. Show the people your pretty face." Sevina lifted her head and glared into the camera, before a grin suddenly appeared on her face. She walked backwards about ten paces, then suddenly let out a cry and ran towards Matt. She speared him onto the ground, the camera flying out of his hands. There was a great deal of laughter, before Sevina stood up, pulling Matt to his feet with her. He pouted at her and folded his arms, looking at the camera. "You ruined my video." Sevina laughed and punched him. "Don't be such a baby. Come on, Jeff's waiting for us."_

_-----_

"_Jeff! Jeff! No! Don't you dare!" Sevina was torn between laughing and screaming at Jeff suddenly threw her over his shoulder and started running. He cackled madly and ignored her pleas and threats. Matt and Shannon looked on, both laughing. It was really her own fault for busting a water balloon over Jeff's head when he was asleep in the hammock. Sevina continued to scream, kicking her legs and beating her fists on Jeff's back. He barely seemed to notice. When he reached the pool he suddenly flipped her off his shoulder, holding her over the water. She tried to scrabble away, hanging onto him. He grinned at her wickedly. "Are you sorry?"_

_Sevina narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head. "No! I will never be sorry! Put me down, Jeffrey Nero Hardy!"_

"_Okay."_

"_Wait…I didn't-!" Her sentence was cut off as Jeff suddenly let go and she fell into the water. She broke the surface moments later and glared at Jeff. "I am going to kill you!" Jeff just giggled and ran off before she could get out and exact her revenge._

_-----_

"_Jeff? Are you here? Matt?" Sevina walked into Matt's house, looking around and frowning slightly. She walked through the rooms, but couldn't find anyone. She headed out the back and stood as she reached the decking. She stared, her eyebrows shooting up. Matt was shouting at Jeff, who was dressed bizarrely, even for him. He was wearing a pair of black jeans, heavy boots, a black and white sweater with a busy pattern, a really strange hat that had ears and tassels in weird places. He was also wearing black sunglasses and had black stripes running down his chin. He was currently doing the strangest dance that Sevina had ever seen and attacking Matt's yard with a weed eater. "Will you quit it? Ow! Itchweeed!"_

_Sevina mouthed the word 'Itchweeed' with confusion on her face. She glanced to the side and saw Shannon, trying to hold a video camera, whilst almost crying with laughter. Jeff suddenly spotted her and started waving the weed eater around dangerously. "Hey, pretty thang! Boy, would you just look at that! Come here girlie, don't be scared. I only bites the really juicy ones!" Sevina looked at Matt, who smacked his forehead with his palm. "Itchweeed, dude…"_

_Itchweeed a.k.a Jeff, suddenly whacked Matt over the head with the stem of the weed eater. "Boy, shut yo' mouth!" Matt growled and then tackled Itchweeed to the ground. What ensued was utter chaos. Itchweeed screamed blue murder and tried to kill Matt with the weed eater, whilst Matt tried to throttle him. By the time they had finished, Sevina was sitting on the floor laughing, tears running down her face and her arms wrapped around her aching ribs._

_-----_

"_Shannon, Shannon, Shannon! SHANNON!" _

"_WHAT?!" Shannon had been sleeping on the couch in Jeff's house when the noise had awoken him. He sat up sharply and his eyes widened. He let out a very girly scream and suddenly dove off the couch. Where his head had been, there was now a bright blue paint stain. He picked himself off up the floor and then took off running. He screamed as he ran, random blue splotches of paint appearing on the walls and floor behind him._

_He ran into the yard, the paint followed him. Sevina and Jeff ran after him, both carrying large bags, filled with water balloons that were quite obviously full of paint. They cornered him in front of the house and pelted him until he was blue from head to foot. Sevina and Jeff stood back to admire their handiwork. She nudged Jeff. "Hey, look, it's a real-life smurf!"_

"_Hey, Vina? What colour does a smurf go if you strangle it?" Sevina grinned at him._

"_Let's find out!" They both suddenly jumped on the paint covered Shannon._

_-----_

"_Hey, Jeff?"_

"_Yeah, Vina?"_

"_If I jump off this roof, will you catch me?"_

"_No."_

"_What?!"_

"_I'll jump too."_

"_What, like Titanic?"_

"_Yeah. Man, that's an epic love story."_

"_Dude, no."_

"_Yes."_

"_No."_

"_Yes."_

"_No."_

"_Yes."_

"_No."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Leo DiCaprio is icky."_

"_Hey, Vina?"_

"_Yeah, Jeff?"_

"_Reckon we can count the stars?"_

"_No, Jeff."_

"_Why not?"_

"_There's too many."_

"_We should try."_

"_There's too many."_

"_No, there's not."_

"_Yes, there is."_

"_Not."_

"_Are."_

"_Not."_

"_Are."_

"_Not."_

"_Hey, Jeff?"_

"_Yeah, Vina?"_

"_Love you."_

"_Love you too, Kid."_

_-----_

Sevina closed the photo album and sighed. She stood up and went out onto the balcony, looking up at the sky. She chewed on her lip for a moment, then started counting. "One, two, three, four, five…"


	28. Chapter 28

Matt walked into Sevina's house, calling out to see if she was there. It was quite early in the morning and they had to catch a plane out of Cameron later that day. The house was weirdly quiet, normally Sevina had loud music playing. She had no immediate neighbours so she never had to worry about bothering anyone. Matt frowned and jogged up the stairs, still calling for her. He knocked on her bedroom door, but there was no answer. He opened it slowly and frowned, looking around. She wasn't there and her bed looked like it hadn't been slept in. He spotted the photo album, just sitting on the top of the blankets and walked over. He flipped it open and smiled a little.

Sevina had always loved taking pictures, she never went far without her camera. As this thought occurred to him, he became aware that the balcony doors were open, letting the fresh, crisp air into the room. He frowned and moved to close them, when he spotted her. She was sat on the balcony, curled up against the railings, fast asleep. Had she been out here all night? He walked over and crouched quietly beside her. He reached out a hand to gently shake her. "Vina…Vina, wake up."

Slowly she stirred, opening her eyes and frowning at him. "Matt?"

"Yeah, Kid. What the hell are you doing out here? Have you been here all night?" Sevina slowly moved, wincing a little as her back and neck protested from sleeping in such an awkward position. "I was…counting the stars." Matt frowned, confused, but he got the feeling it would be better not to ask. "Come on, Kid. We've got a plane to catch." He helped her up and then left her to shower and get dressed.

She jogged down the stairs about twenty minutes later, now dressed in a pair of stonewash jeans and a Hardy Boyz t-shirt. She looked around for Matt and found him in the back yard. He was just staring at the wall. Sevina frowned and walked up behind him, a swift knot of realisation hitting her stomach. One side of her house was completely covered by a giant mural that Jeff had painted for her. He'd started it as soon as she'd made the decision to buy the house. She hadn't gone back to there until the day she moved in and by that time, he'd finished it. It had been a gift to her, making the house uniquely hers. She stood behind Matt, staring at the vast painting. It was filled with blues and purples, colours that Sevina had always associated with Jeff.

Matt turned to her, sighing slightly. "Come on. We'd better get to the airport." He then walked back to the house. Sevina hesitated, stepping closer to the wall. She reached out a hand, just brushing her fingertips over the cold, hard surface. She felt the pain trying to surface, the tears trying to flow, but she forced them down. She turned her back on the wall and returned to the house. Matt was waiting patiently by the front door and he helped her load her suitcases into the car. She was quiet the whole time and Matt didn't push her to make conversation. He seemed to understand that she needed the time to think.

The drive to the airport was quiet, but for the sounds of Pearl Jam floating out of the speakers. Jeff was sat with them on the plane, but he seemed to pay no attention to either of them. Sevina stared out of the window, watching the clouds and the patchwork quilt of fields below. She should have been ecstatic, her career was moving so quickly. She was being pushed higher and higher by the company, but she just couldn't find it in herself to be excited.

The venue was crowded by the time they got there. They were all running late and Matt didn't have the time to talk to either Jeff or Sevina as he had wanted to. Sevina headed to her dressing room. She threw her bag down and started changing into her new ring gear. She examined the leather pants and corset, before putting them on. She then flipped open the box containing her new ring boots. They were black and red, so different from her usual blue tones.

She was lacing them up when there was a knock on the door. She frowned and stood up. Mark was stood on the other side of the door in full Undertaker regalia. Sevina smiled at him and stepped aside to let him in. He looked around before turning his eyes on her. "You ready to rock?" Sevina nodded but didn't say anything. Mark had noticed she rarely did anymore. She seemed to speak only when it was necessary. He watched her as she rearranged her hair, setting it so that the new scarlet streak shone out. "Sevina, can I talk to you about something real for a minute?" Sevina looked at him, confused, but nodded, though she still said nothing.

"You've been…acting a bit strange lately. Like something's seriously on your mind." Sevina flicked her eyes away from him, turning her attention back to the mirror. All she gave in reply was a light, half-hearted shrug. Mark's massive hand came down on her shoulder firmly, forcing her to pay full attention to him. "You can talk to me, Sevina. It wont go any further." Sevina looked at his hand, then sighed and looked up to his face. "I'm alright, Mark. It's just…sometimes, living in the pretend is easier."

Mark nodded, he could understand, but it didn't stop him from being concerned. Sevina was talented and she normally had such a strong character, he didn't like seeing her so obviously out of sorts. "I understand that, but it wont make the problems go away. Sometimes, facing what hurts us most, as difficult as it can be, is the best path to take." There was silence for a long time after he said this, until another knock sounded at the door. Glen stuck his head in. "Time to go, kids." They both nodded, Sevina giving Mark her first genuine smile in what felt like forever. Okay, so things were pretty grim in her head right now, but she had made some amazing friends despite that.

Jeff and Matt were in the ring, calling her out, appealing to her to realise what she was doing to, to change her mind. They were asking her to come to the ring so that they could talk about it. Bad Romance hit and she walked out, flanked on either side by Kane and The Undertaker. She stood at the top of the ramp, glaring down towards Jeff and Matt, whose expressions had simultaneously dropped upon seeing that she was not alone. She said nothing, just staring at her former companions. Her eyes met Jeff and a bolt of electricity seemed to pass through her. He felt it too and shifted a little, trying to shake the strange sensation.

"Matt and Jeff Hardy. The Hardy Boyz. You know, I'd have thought, after all these years you'd understand by now. The Brothers of Destruction always get what they want! Sevina wants to be with her family. Her real family and you would deny her that right. How much can you care if you would keep her from us?" Kane's voice was half mocking, half angry. Sevina looked at him and he bestowed her with what would have looked like an affectionate smile if it were anyone but him. He reached out a hand to lay it on her cheek. He looked towards the ring where Matt and Jeff both seemed to be fighting the urge to run down and jump on him. "Don't you understand? She belongs to us! Not you! You. Can't. Have. Her!"

That did it. Matt and Jeff suddenly dove out of the ring and up the ramp. They seemed to be almost perfectly in time as they attacked both Kane and The Undertaker. Sevina jumped back, looking torn. Jeff was pummelling Kane with his fists and he suddenly stood up, throwing his hair back as he lifted his head. He was stood directly in front of Sevina. She looked at him with an almost frightened expression and he just stared at her as if she were the only person in the building. He was caught off guard by Kane, who spearing him from behind, sending him headfirst into the ramp.

Sevina would have had to be deaf not to hear his head thud against the ground and it sounded wrong. That wasn't supposed to happen. She looked at Jeff and saw his eyes roll before closing. He was very obviously out cold. Sevina's eyes flashed to Glen who had frozen in place, but they had to recover, had to act it for the cameras. Sevina grabbed Kane's arm and began dragging him back. They all made a swift exit, leaving Matt and the officials to help Jeff who was still unconscious.


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N Thank you to I Luv Hardy, you've stuck with me for so long now :) musichick06, Your reviews always make me smile and build my enthusiasm and to DragonMoonStone, I love your reviews and I want to marry them! And you! :D**

**Thank you, all three of you for supporting this :D**

Sound was the first awareness, he could hear everything. He could hear Matt shouting, the many voices of the various officials. Then the strange sense of many hands lifting him into the air, before something that was equally soft and hard appeared under his back. He wanted to ask what was going on, but found that he couldn't speak. This was bizarre. He couldn't see either. He tried to find a sense of his body and discovered that his eyes were closed. Okay. So all he had to do was open them. It took some trying, but he managed it. His vision was a little blurry and everything seemed to be fading in and out. He could see a very high ceiling moving swiftly past and then he felt his body and whatever it was being supported by, being lifted. Then he saw the inside roof of the ambulance.

Things were starting to make more sense now. He shut his eyes again because they were starting to hurt and tried to remember what had happened. He'd been looking at Sevina, with the vague knowledge that there were people everywhere. She had looked scared, but underneath that, there had been something else, something he had seen echoed in his own eyes for such a long time. He'd hesitated a second too long, not tensing up in time to absorb the blow as Kane hit him. He remembered seeing the ground rush up to meet him and then the noise. The sickening thud and his head connected with the stage. Then nothing. Everything had faded to black. Now he was tired. He wanted to sleep. Maybe he shouldn't though. He figured he probably had concussion. Sleeping maybe wouldn't be the best idea. What if he fell asleep and never woke up? What if he never got to tell Sevina that he loved her, just once before his life ended?

That was a painful thought. One he didn't want to acknowledge. He wasn't going to die. He'd had so many numerous injuries in his career and he instinctively knew that this one wouldn't kill him. Everything was way too clear for that the be the case, but he really did want to sleep. How long had they been travelling? The movement of the ambulance was almost soothing. It made him even sleepier. Maybe he should just give in and go to sleep. At least then the pounding in his head would stop and he could dream. Dreaming was pleasant these days, because Sevina was always there and in his dreams, she loved him the same way that he loved her. That was all the reason he needed to give in the tiredness rushing through him and let his mind relax into sleep and the next thing he was aware of was the weirdest dream he'd had yet, mainly because he couldn't see anything, he could just hear.

"_Matt?"_

"_Hey, Vina."_

"_How's he doing?"_

"_Been out for three hours. Not showing any signs of waking any time soon." He could imagine Matt stretching in his seat as he said that. Sevina's voice sounded close, it sounded concerned and Jeff wanted to reach out to her, to ask her what was worrying her. He could hear movement, high heels clicking over a tiled floor, coming closer. They stopped very close by._

"_It wasn't your fault, Vina."_

"_Yeah, I know, but…" Matt sighed as if exasperated and Jeff could almost see him shaking his head._

"_Maybe you should just tell him, Vina?" Tell who? And what? What was going on here?_

"_I can't do that. He doesn't need that on his mind."_

"_Sevina, how can you be so certain he doesn't feel the same?"_

"_If Jeff felt the same way about me, he would have told me by now. I'm certain of it."_

"_But you love him."_

"_I love you as well."_

"_Yeah, but you're _in _love with him." Sevina sighed and Jeff's mind was screaming. Damnit! Why couldn't he move? Why couldn't he see?! Why couldn't he tell her that he loved her too?! He felt like he was struggled against a determined downward push._

"_It doesn't matter. He's happier without me."_

"_Yeah…right." Matt muttered softly and Jeff doubted Sevina would have heard it. He was still fighting against himself, trying to push up against the wall of darkness that was holding him down. He had to find her in this darkness, he had to tell her. He had to...He had to…_

"Vina…V-…V-Vina." Matt and Sevina both turned their heads sharply in Jeff's direction, eyes wide as he began to stir, his head turning from side to side restlessly, as if looking for something. Sevina moved to his side, her hand automatically finding him, leaning over him slightly. "Jeff? Jeff, can you hear me?" For a moment there was nothing and then all of a sudden, his hand returned her grip tight enough to make her gasp in slight pain and his eyes snapped open, looking directly at her. Then he said the most bizarre thing she had ever heard him say. "I found you…" Sevina frowned, but had no time to ask what he meant, as Matt had called for the nurse, who now entered with a doctor in tow. They asked Sevina to move back and she tried, but Jeff refused to let go of her hand.

They were forced to work around her, which proved much more awkward than anyone would have believed. Jeff answered their questions, becoming more lucid as the minutes rolled by. Matt and Sevina could only watch and listen anxiously, waiting for their verdict.

Finally the doctor straightened up, slinging his stethoscope around his neck. He looked at Jeff, smiling a little. "Well, Mr Hardy, considering the injuries you've had in the past, this is a mild one. Not even a concussion. The blunt force trauma is going to make you a little out of sorts and it may take a while for your brain to reorganise itself, but you should be back to normal within a day or two."

Jeff thanked him and watched as he and the nurse left. He sat up, finally releasing Sevina's hand. He ran his hands down his face, letting out a long breath. When he lowered them, he looked around for Sevina but she was nowhere in sight. He looked at Matt, frowning. Matt shrugged and stood up, walking to the bed. "I think she just needed some air."

Jeff looked at the door, biting his bottom lip. He looked at Matt again, with a strange expression on his face. "I need to talk to her. Properly." A slight grin appeared on Matt's face, despite his attempts to disguise it. Maybe the blow to the head had knocked some sense into his little brother. He didn't voice his thoughts, just nodded and then helped Jeff to gather his things so they could leave. Matt went to bring the car around and Jeff found Sevina in one of the halls, staring at a candy machine. He watched as she pressed the button. The machine whirred and clunked, but nothing happened. Without warning Sevina suddenly punched it, then banged her palm against it, leaning forward as she did so and pressing her forehead against it. She screwed her eyes shut as if trying not to cry.

Jeff wasn't aware that he was moving until he felt his arms going around her, pulling her in tight to his chest. She was still for a moment, before her hands curled into the front of his shirt and she turned her face into the material. He rocked her gently from side to side, resting his cheek against the top of her hair and making soothing noises. One of his hand moved to thread into her hair, the other resting across the top of her back. They stayed like that for a long time, before Sevina made an indication that she wanted to move. Jeff was tempted to ignore the subtle shifting in her body, but he didn't. He reluctantly let her go and looked at her.

There were tear stains on her cheeks, which even as he watched, she brushed away. She collected herself before looking at him. "We should…go." Jeff nodded. He wanted to talk to her, but now wasn't the time or place for it. He led the way out of the hospital, pulling his hood up as they walked. He really didn't want to be recognised right now. Matt was waiting for them, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. Jeff climbed in the front, whilst Sevina got in the back.

When they arrived at the hotel, Jeff was instantly swamped by people wanting to know if he was alright. Amidst the chaos, Sevina quietly slipped away. She said nothing to anyone as she went up to her room. No-one really noticed, they were used to her borderline anti-social behaviour. Jeff noticed. He always noticed. He made his excuses as quickly as he could and headed up to her room. He hesitated outside, taking a deep breath before he knocked.

"Come in."

Jeff opened the door and then froze. Sevina had her back to him and was in the process of pulling on a white fitted t-shirt. He stared at her back as it was slowly covered by the material. She turned, her eyes widening when she saw him. She folded her arms loosely and backed up a couple of steps, putting distance between them without even realising she was doing it. "Um…hi." Jeff simply nodded in response. Sevina moved and sat down on the bed, crossing her legs. "You okay?" Jeff nodded again and walked towards her, but he stopped when he saw her wince slightly. She didn't even seem to know she'd done it. The tiny movement sent his mind reeling as it hit home just how much he had hurt her. "I need to talk to you."

He remembered all too clearly what had happened the last time he'd tried to talk to her and he was determined not to stage a repeat. He was going to be more careful this time. Sevina frowned at him, also remembering the last time. She didn't want to go through that again. She let her breath out in a long, slow sigh. "About what?" She tried to keep her voice light and casual, but failed, betraying the fear and nervousness she really felt. Jeff heard it and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. He looked at his hands, examining the fingers that he knew so well as his mind tried to come up with the words he wanted to express. "About us. About what's happened to us."

Sevina watched him, then closed her eyes, concentrating hard on not letting her emotions get the better of her. "No, Jeff." Jeff's head snapped up and he looked at her. No? "But, Vina, I-"

"No." She said again, very gently. She opened her eyes and looked at him and there was a plea there, a plea to understand. "I can't. Not right now. I know, that this conversation needs to happen, but not yet."

"When?"

"I don't know. After WrestleMania. Once the pressure's off." Jeff sighed and lowered his eyes again. That was three weeks away. What if the courage disappeared? What if he lost the guts to tell her? No. No, he wouldn't. If she needed him to wait, he would wait. He looked at her again and nodded. He wanted to tell her that he missed her and he loved her, but the look on her face was so pained and so sad that he had a feeling it would do more harm than good at the moment. He stood up and quietly left the room.

Sevina watched after him and then pulled her knees up to her chest, running her fingers through her hair. She didn't want that conversation. Not ever. She didn't want to hear him reiterate his desire to be out of her life and his dislike for the way she seemed to keep finding a way back in. Putting it off until after WrestleMania would be easier. Their storyline would be finished then and she wouldn't have to see him all the time. Maybe she could heal after that. She hoped so. She wasn't sure her head or her heart could take much more of this abuse. She felt like she'd been picked dry of any coping mechanism she had ever had and the hole where Jeff should have been was greater than ever. Whoever said that time heals all wounds, was a liar. Either that, or they'd never been in love with someone they couldn't have.

She lay down and stared at the ceiling. It was just plain white, just like every other hotel they stayed in. Everything was bland. The whole world seemed bland without Jeff to brighten it up. Wherever he was, he filled it with colour and personality and when he left, some brightness seemed to dim, leaving everything just a little more grey than before. The inevitable conversation was going to hurt and the world would always be grey once it was over, but it was unavoidable. Jeff needed closure. He needed to put that final nail in the coffin and let it rest. If she could give him nothing else, Sevina would give him that. This time, she would give him a clean break.


	30. Chapter 30

_"Welcome to Friday Night SmackDown, coming to you tonight from Kansas City!"_

_"Hello, hello, hello. Welcome."_

_"So, a lot of great matches for you tonight and a special point of interest, the stipulations for The Hardy Boyz versus The Brothers of Destruction at WrestleMania will be announced tonight!"_

_"I for one, am very interested to see what's going to be put on the line at WrestleMania as a result of one of the biggest, most personal feuds we have ever seen, here on SmackDown."_

_"I couldn't agree more. For those who need a recap, take a look at this…"_

-----

Matt and Jeff were stood in the ring, facing Kane and The Undertaker, who were stood at the opposite end of the canvas. Sevina was lounging in a chair at the table which was set up between them. She didn't look at any of them, just stared up at the high ceiling of the arena with a bored expression. Jim Ross set the briefcase down on the table and flipped it open. He then spoke in a very serious voice. "Matt and Jeff Hardy, Kane and Undertaker. It is now time for you to decide on the stipulations and stakes of your match at WrestleMania. Matt and Jeff, if you would like to go first."

Jeff stepped up, speaking for both of them. "If the Hardy Boyz lose at WrestleMania, we will never speak to or come near Sevina again... and we will both quit SmackDown." This announcement sent a shock round the crowd. Sevina was suddenly paying attention, looking at Jeff with a frown, her hands now gripping the edge of the table until her knuckles went white. She felt Kane's hand come down firmly on her shoulder and looked up at him. He spoke now. "Well, since The Brothers of Destruction are going to win…how about we leave our stakes blank and you can let everyone know on the night, what you want in the impossible event that you win."

Jeff made a move towards Kane, but Matt grabbed his arm and then took his turn to talk. "Alright. Accepted. As for the match itself; Ladder Match!" The crowd cheered and clapped, liking this idea. Matt and Jeff, after all, were legendary for their ladder matches. Kane grinned, his hand tightening on Sevina's shoulder a little. "Agreed." Without any further discussion, the contract was signed and sealed away in the briefcase. Jeff and Matt left the ring first. Kane, Undertaker and Sevina followed. Kane kept his hand on her shoulder at all times and the grimace on Sevina's face suggested that it might have been painful.

Backstage Sevina shook Mark's hand and was promptly pulled into a one armed hug from the big man. She smiled at him, really smiled. Mark and Glen didn't say much and they never asked her what was wrong, they just made sure she knew they were there and she definitely knew. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that they would become lifelong friends for her. Already she couldn't imagine her life without them. Their on-screen personas were so sharply contrasted by their real life ones. Mark was serious and kind of like a big brother to everyone. He was supremely confident in who he was and he was definitely the big dog in the yard around SmackDown, but he had mischief in him and enjoy pulling pranks on the others. Glen was calmer, quite softly spoken for a man his size and the very epitome of the gentle giant.

Sevina made the effort today to stand and talk to them for a while before she headed back to her dressing room. She looked at the note taped to her mirror and smiled.

_Two days downtime. Rest up for WM. See you Friday._

_Teddy_

Sevina would not be making anymore in ring appearances before WrestleMania, but she needed to be here for backstage vignettes. She wasn't going to be part of the match at WrestleMania either, but she would be at ringside. She pulled the note lightly from the mirror and then changed into her jeans and t-shirt and headed back to the hotel. She called the airline as soon as she was back and arranged a flight back to Cameron for that night. She wasn't going to tell Matt and Jeff that she was going home. She needed to be alone for a couple of days, just to think and process everything. She made sure to write them a note, explaining where she was and why. She could have hung out here and then gone straight on to the next city and watched the house shows, but she wanted to go home. More than ever in her life, she needed to go home.

As she stepped off the plane and headed for her beloved Mustang, she felt a weight leave her. She was alone. Truly alone. Matt and Jeff weren't going to suddenly show up and no-one else knew she was here. There were no expectations, no-one to entertain or take care of, no-one to pretend to, no-one she had to try and be alright for. She was tired. It was the early hours of the morning and she couldn't wait to get home and go to sleep.

She almost fell into her bed when she was finally able to and fell straight to sleep. She was not troubled by dreams. The quietness that was an inherent part of living in Cameron soothed her busy mind and let her truly rest for the first time in months. She was burning out. Something had to give. Something had to change or she was going to come back here one day and completely lose the urge to return to the road.

When she woke up it was close to midday but she didn't care. She lay in her bed and looked at the French doors that led onto her balcony. The sun was bright and she hadn't pulled the drapes the night before so it beamed onto her face. She let out a soft sigh, one of contentment. There were no horrors to follow her here. She could hear the birds in the woods that encroached on her yard and the sound made her smile. How long since she had taken the time to just listen to the sounds around her? She knew that the pain and the worry were still waiting for her, but right now, they were a long way off and she could just let go for a couple of days. She could just be herself for a couple of days.

-----

Jeff frowned at the note that Matt had handed him, reading it twice.

_Dear Matt and Jeff,_

_Teddy gave me two days downtime. No house shows or in-ring for me until WM. So, I've decided to go to Cameron on my own. I need time to think, so please, don't call unless you absolutely have to. I'm sorry I wont be there to watch you. I'll be back on Friday. Good luck and I hope everything goes okay. Jeff, I hope your head feels better. I hope you don't think I'm just abandoning you. As I said, I just need some time to think. I think I've been over-doing it a bit lately._

_I'll miss you lots and send you loads of texts so you don't miss me! Take care both of you,_

_See you in Arkansas! _

_Love and kisses,_

_Vina_

_Xxx_

Matt watched Jeff's face, saw the almost disappointment registered there. Even though he and Sevina didn't talk anymore, she was a constant presence and it would be strange not having her around, even for a few days. Matt wasn't surprised that Jeff wasn't happy about Sevina going back to Cameron on her own, but part of him felt like it was for the best. He hadn't told Jeff that Sevina was at risk of losing her job because of her weight loss, he had no intention of it. They both needed a little space from the pressure of having to see each other so much. He knew that Jeff wanted to tell Sevina how he felt, he also knew that she had asked him to hold off their conversation until after WrestleMania, but if Matt had it his way, that wouldn't need to happen.

His plan was solid now, there was no going back. The wheels were in motion and it was going to happen. Whatever the outcome, the truth would come out and they would be forced to face their own idiocy over the last few months. It was a good sign that Jeff had finally decided he was going to tell Sevina the truth. Maybe Matt's plan wouldn't be a total failure after all. Maybe they wouldn't both just end up hating him for it.

He sighed and patted Jeff's shoulder. "She'll be back in a couple of days." Jeff nodded and folded the note up, slipping it into his pocket. "Just gonna be weird not seeing her around." Matt shrugged, he could hardly blame her for needing to get some space. Her head tended to be almost as busy as Jeff's. Matt didn't know if he could handle having that kind of mind, the kind that never shut up, that just wanted to second-guess everything and make it more complicated than it needed to be. Matt wasn't unintelligent, but he liked to keep things simple. One thing he had learned was that the problem, was only ever as difficult as the solution and the solution he had come up with to solve the problems with Jeff and Sevina was amazingly simple.

**_"We should go. We need to be at the airport in an hour." Jeff looked at him and then nodded mutely. It was going to be very strange travelling somewhere without Sevina. He didn't talk to her, but he was used to the sense of closeness that came from spending your life on the road with someone._**


	31. Chapter 31

Sevina stood looking down through the woods near her house. She could see the building from her position on the hill. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans and took a deep breath of the fresh, clean air. She was flying out today to meet SmackDown in Arkansas. For the first time in a long time she felt excited to be going back. It had been a great two days, she'd slept late, eaten bad food, watched t.v and danced around her house to terrible music. She'd been herself again. She'd let everything else go and just been Sevina Ataera, average and unremarkable. She'd never have thought she'd enjoy being normal, but she had. It had reminded her of why she had picked the profession that she had because as much as she'd enjoyed the time to herself, she grew quickly bored. She needed stimulation, she needed the crowd and the noise to fuel her.

She smiled, taking a last look around the woods before jogging down to the house. Normal was nice, but remarkable was better. She threw her suitcase into her car and waved goodbye to her house. "Bye house! See you soon!" She laughed and then sped off down the dirt driveway, kicking up a cloud of dust behind her. Yes, she enjoyed being home, but she couldn't wait to get back on the road and back to the life that she loved.

The plane ride was almost exhilarating and she watched the world go by with a sense of anticipation. Two weeks til WrestleMania. She was excited for it. Her first WrestleMania and though they may not be on the same team, Matt and Jeff were going to be sharing it with her, walking the path with her. The grandest stage of them all and it would be _her_ stage. She didn't care that she had to share it. She wanted to. She wanted to bring the entire world into it. She wanted them to feel how she felt. She wanted them to share her emotion, her enthusiasm and energy. Things were still bad in her personal life, they were still a mess, but how could she not be excited for WM? It was what he had worked her whole life for.

Matt and Jeff were waiting for her when she reached the airport. Jeff was a silent presence in the background, but he was there and his expression was open. Sevina almost flew into Matt's waiting arms and he swung her around. She laughed and hugged him tightly, then peppered kisses all over his face. "I missed you so much!"

Matt was shocked. She'd gone away broken and come back so much closer to the person he remembered. Such was her enthusiasm that she even hugged Jeff without even a trace of awkwardness. She then bounced her way out of the airport to find her rental car. Matt looked at Jeff and lifted his eyebrows. "You think we should drug test her?" Jeff snorted with laughter and they both followed her out. Jeff drove his rental to the hotel, whilst Matt got a ride with Sevina. She had the music on some loud, obnoxious channel. He grimaced and turned it down. "How can you listen to that crap?" Sevina gasped as if scandalised and slapped his hand as he tried to change the station. "I'll have you know, Matthew, that I like a great range of music." Matt shook his head in a disapproving way. "Sevina, that's not music. It's just…noise." Sevina giggled and shrugged, slapping his hand again as it inched towards the stereo. "Mine. You want to change the music, go in your own car."

Matt pulled his hand back and then coughed a little, folding his arms. "So uh…you seem better."

"I _feel_ better. I really needed those two days to myself."

"Well, good. Now maybe you can tell Jeff the truth."

"Not gonna happen, Hardy." Sevina shook her head, her expression hardening only a little as she turned into the hotel parking lot. She stopped and then looked at him. "Look, I get why you want me to and I appreciate the concern, but it would just make a difficult situation worse." Matt nodded. He knew it was useless to argue. He comforted himself with the knowledge that she wouldn't have a choice soon enough. Sevina then danced out of the car and grabbed her bags before bounding into the hotel. A lot of heads turned her way as she passed. Most of the superstars staying in the hotel were, by now, used to the sullen Sevina who didn't like to talk to anyone. So, seeing her chatting animatedly to Maria and hugging Mark and Glen enthusiastically was a bit of a shock to several systems.

She walked into her hotel room and took a minute to really take it in. It was the same as all the others, but different somehow. Her renewed energy made it brighter somehow. Life around Jeff was never going to be easy and the pain would still come, the tears would return, but she had an escape. She had her work and whilst she had vowed not to let it take over anymore, she could still escape into that part of her mind when she needed to. This burst of energy would carry her through until after WrestleMania, then she would have to face the pain of losing Jeff all over again and she would let it take her under for a while, but she had to find a way to be stronger, a way to make this easier for him.

She loved him and he was still her best friend, even if he didn't want to be, so she had to step back. She wanted him to be happy and that wouldn't happen as long as she let on how much it was hurting her to be separated from him so completely. She flopped down on her bed and closed her eyes. She was a little tired. She'd stayed up late the previous night, laying on her lawn and looking at the stars, not counting this time, just looking. She wanted to appreciate them one more time before she went back to a life of cities where the sky was obscured by bright lights. She felt sleep overpowering her and gave in to it. It was a restful sleep, not haunted by the dreams she'd been anxious would return once she was back.

-----

"It's like she left as one person and came back as someone completely different." Matt was smiling as he spoke, looking at his brother who was frowning a little. "No. She didn't. She came back as the person she was before I hurt her." Matt sighed. There was no getting Jeff to look at this positively. He seemed determined to torture himself, as if Sevina coming back seeming better was somehow a confirmation of the damage his presence in her life was doing. Matt stopped walking and turned to Jeff. "You're still gonna tell her, right?" Jeff seemed torn. He'd been asking himself the same question. She seemed so much happier now that she'd had some time away from him and he couldn't help but think that that was what she had needed all along, to just be away from him completely. It had done her good. So, maybe telling her really would do more harm than good.

"Jeff, listen to me. You can't back out of this. She's expecting that conversation and if you back out and just tell her that you want to walk away from her completely again, it's just going to send her right back where she started. You don't have a choice now, Jeffro. You have to tell her truth, or you just going to hurt her more." Matt's logic was flawed and Jeff knew it, but he just couldn't seem to put his finger on why and he could also swear he heard something close to amusement in his older brother's tone, which was disconcerting in itself. There was nothing remotely funny about this situation.

"Come on, man. Look on the bright side. Only two weeks til WrestleMania. Now that's something to look forward to." Jeff nodded, actually managing a smile. One thing he would always look forward to, was the opportunity to compete at WrestleMania and going toe-to-toe with The Undertaker and Kane in a ladder match was an instant set up for a classic. It was going to be one for the history books, Jeff was determined of that. They were going to pull out all the stops and all the stunts. He prided himself on wrestling each match, regardless of size, as if it were his last, but there was something about WM that raised the bar, that made him want to push that little bit further, to put his body through that bit more hell just to see if the fans could scream any louder or if the match could get any bigger. He also knew that Sevina would be ringside. Her first WrestleMania, something she'd been dreaming about for years. Jeff wanted to make it memorable for her, but he also wanted to show her that he was worth something, that he could be more than he had been, he could always take things a step further. He wanted her to know that he was brave and he was ready to be brave. He had to show her he could be strong. He could be the man she'd once thought he was.


	32. Chapter 32

That week flew past and the excitement in the locker room, which had started off as a quiet buzz in the background grew and grew. All anyone was talking about was WrestleMania. The house shows revolved around it, as did the taping of SmackDown. Numerous promos appeared on the titantron, bringing the excitement to another level. Sevina only appeared on camera once that week so she was pretty much free to do what she wanted, but what she wanted to do was be wherever the show was and be able to soak up the excitement that was in the air.

Even Jeff perked up a little as the date drew closer. This year WrestleMania was being hosted in Las Vegas and everyone had already booked their flights out there, even though there was still another week to wait. It was easy for the troubled Hardy brother to be swept up in the buzz that was travelling through everyone and he let it. It helped. He focused his mind on the match, thinking only of that as much as he could.

He wandered through the hotel, rubbing his shoulder. He and Matt had gotten into an on screen fight with Kane and The Undertaker and he'd landed badly, so now his shoulder was aching slightly. He found Matt in the lobby. "Hey." Matt turned to him and smiled. "Hey, how's the shoulder?"

"Sore, but it'll be fine."

"Well, a group of us are gonna hit the gym. You in?" Jeff nodded. He needed to try and work out the strain on his shoulder, plus being in the gym always took his mind off things. When he wasn't working or training, his thoughts automatically turned to Sevina, as if they were programmed to do so. He followed his brother to the hotel gym. It was bigger than most of the ones they stayed in and the equipment range was vast. Jeff looked around, taking it all in, before spotting the last person he wanted to see right now.

Sevina was on the treadmill, laughing and bickering with Maria. The two seemed to be in some kind of race. As he watched, Sevina reached over and hit some of the buttons on Maria's treadmill, causing it to slow right now. It was strange to see Sevina so comfortable in her environment, when usually she shied away from social contact in new places. She seemed to have fitted in better in the SmackDown locker room than she had ever done anywhere else. Jeff knew he should have been glad about this, but he felt something close to jealousy. Not because she was happy, but because her world no longer centred around himself and Matt. He supposed that that was his doing really. He'd pushed her away and forced her to have to find other ways of coping. It was stupid, but he didn't like how well she'd adjusted. The selfish part of him had wanted her to be unable to cope and to realise that maybe she felt something more for him than friendship.

He hated these thoughts. He hated that he felt that way because it wasn't fair to her. She had every right to be happy and after everything he'd put her through he had no right feeling the way that he did. He felt ashamed of his own thoughts and tried to shake them away, focusing his attention on Matt who had wandered over to the weight bench. Simply for something to do other than stand and brood over Sevina, he went to help him.

His eyes flicked regularly to the object of his mental torture as she trained. He watched her wince as she pushed her back a little too hard and remembered the pain in her face after she'd pulled him from the roof. He sighed a little, again questioning his decision to tell her everything. He should be grateful that she didn't seem to hate him, but at least if she hated him, it would mean that she still cared. At the moment she seemed almost indifferent to him, as if he weren't even there and it was killing him. He couldn't stand it. Yes, he had to tell her because he needed it out of him, he needed the get the demons out of him, to let them go. Even if she told him to go to hell he would know, one way or the other, that he tried, that he was honest with her and that he hadn't just sat back and watched as she faded out of his life.

Maybe, once she understood the reasons behind his actions, they could somehow find a way back to the friends they had once been. It didn't have to be an ending, it could be a new beginning. He could bury his feelings, he would learn to, as long as he got to have her back in his life. Being away from her was too painful, it was too much. Whatever he had to do to be part of her life, he would do it. He could be patient, he would wait until after WrestleMania and then he would tell her everything and in so doing, try to find a way to make things right, to cover over the mistakes he'd made. The more he thought about it, the more his resolve set.

Matt watched his brother from the corner of his eyes, seeing that his gaze was fixed on Sevina, but he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. He did a lot lately. Just seemed to lose himself in his head and Matt could very easily guess the reason why. He smirked to himself, but only to himself. This wasn't going to be going on much longer. Almost there. Almost.

-----

"So, when are you flying out?" Maria tilted her head at her friend as she pulled back on the rowing machine. Sevina looked at her and sat forward. "In two days. I'm not appearing on SmackDown this week, so I'm going to go early." Maria nodded and turned fully to look at her. "You going on your own?" Sevina shook her head, pulling back on the rowing machine again. "No, Drew and Tyson are coming with me. Teddy's scheduled us some meet and greets."

Maria was silent for a few moments before being unable to hold her thoughts in anymore. "So, are you and Drew going to start dating again?" Sevina stopped what she was doing and sighed, looking over at Maria with an almost exasperated expression. "No, Boop. We're just friends now. That phase passed pretty quickly." Maria looked disappointed and shook her head fervently. "This is 'cause of Jeff, isn't it? I can't believe you wont tell him." Rather childishly, Sevina put her hands over her ears and shook her head. "La, la, la! Not listening!" Maria rolled her eyes. She knew that this was a subject that was off limits, but it was extremely frustrating. She knew that Sevina's feelings for Jeff hadn't gone away, but she seemed determined to ignore them. Maria had to concede that it was nice to have Sevina back to some sense of normality, but it seemed almost destructive in it's perfect-ness and surely it couldn't last. Still, she knew better than to keep pushing, so instead, she took the opportunity whilst Sevina was distracted to whip her with the corner of her gym towel. Sevina squealed and jumped off the rowing machine to tackle Maria.

The two of them attracted quite a bit of attention as they laughed and rolled their away around the gym, fighting over the towel.


	33. Chapter 33

"Aww, Boop! Don't be sad! I'll see you on Friday!" Sevina hugged her little friend fiercely as the smaller woman looked like she would burst into tears. Maria hugged her back tightly. "Call me when you land, okay?" Sevina nodded and wrapped her pinkie around Maria's making the unbreakable promise. They hugged again. In the last two weeks, they had been inseparable. Maria's energy and constant cheerfulness had been just the tonic that Sevina needed and she really was going to miss her, even if it was just for a few days. She finally managed to get free of Maria's insistent grip to turn to Matt who was looking extremely amused. "Oh shut up." She hugged him tightly and as he let go he dropped a kiss on the front of her hair. "Be safe, Kid. We'll see you on Friday." Sevina smiled and nodded and then finally turned to Jeff. She looked at him silently, then Maria interrupted her thoughts. "Oh! Look, Matt! They have a sunglasses stand! Come help me pick out a new pair!"

"Ooh! Sunglasses!" Maria and Matt wandered off and Sevina rolled her eyes at their not-so-subtle exit. She looked at Jeff again and smiled almost nervously. She wasn't sure how to do this. Jeff took the lead. He hugged her tightly, not saying anything. He didn't know what to say. He wanted to ask her to stay. He knew it was only a few days, but it was so close to the last time she'd gone away and he didn't like her not being around.

Sevina hugged him back, taking in the smell that was uniquely Jeff and then sighed. She forced herself to let go and step back. "So, I'll see you Friday." Jeff nodded, looking a little downcast. Sevina held out her closed fist and he smiled, banging his knuckles against hers. "WrestleMania, here we come." They smiled at each other, both unsure of where they stood. She hugged him again very briefly, then waved to Matt and Maria who looked rather strange in some very bizarre, brightly coloured sunglasses. Sevina laughed and then grabbed her suitcases, heading for the departure gate.

She sat back in her seat on the plane and let out a long breath. She knew that the big event was still days away, but she was already anxious, nervous and excited in equal measures. It was all she could do not to bounce up and down in her seat. She smiled as Drew and Tyson took their seats next to her. "Hey guys." Tyson waved before starting to badger the stewardess and Drew grinned at her. "Hey, excited?" Sevina could only nod. If she tried to voice her feelings about where they were heading she'd probably just end up squealing and making very little sense. "Me too. My first WrestleMania too. It's gonna be awesome. Best one yet." Sevina laughed and nodded in agreement. Of course, they were bound to think that, but it didn't matter. For them, this would be the best WrestleMania in history.

Sevina sat back as the pane began to roll off the runway. She looked out of the window toward the airport where she knew her friends would still be waiting. She smiled to herself and then closed her eyes, letting the excitement wash over her.

-----

"Jeffy! Jeff, look what Matt bought me!" Maria bounced up to Jeff in a pair of sunglasses that were shaped like bunny eyes and ears. Jeff lifted an eyebrow at her, then looked at Matt who just shrugged, looking amused. "Come on. Let's get back." The all trooped out of the airport. Maria talked non-stop, keeping Matt's focus which left Jeff free to think. It almost felt, sometimes, like he and Sevina were starting to repair, like the damage was starting to fix but he knew it wasn't enough. Once he'd told her everything, then things would start to get better.

He climbed into the car, listening to Maria as she babbled on about nothing important. It was almost as if she stored up so much energy when she slept that it just burst out of her when she was awake. Jeff smiled and sat back against his seat. It was strange not having Sevina there. There was no fighting for control of the radio station, no-one telling Maria to shut up and getting slapped for it. The last two weeks, Maria had gone everywhere that Sevina did and Jeff and Matt had become used to her presence. Matt seemed to greatly appreciate it and Jeff couldn't help but smirk knowingly at his brother sometimes.

When they got back to the hotel, Jeff excused himself. Maria and Matt watched him, then looked at each other. "They are so annoying." Maria pouted and Matt smirked, nodding in agreement. "Not for long." Maria's eyebrows went up and she looked at him with a kind of devious curiosity. "What are you planning, Matt Hardy?" Matt grinned at her. "Well…" He lowered his voice and explained his plans to her. When he had finished she squealed and clapped her hands, bouncing on the spot. Matt quickly hushed her. "You can't tell anyone. If they find out, they'll both freak." Maria nodded and made the motions of zipping her lips closed, but she was still bouncing a little, clearly excited and pleased by the plot that Matt had come up with.

She hugged him impulsively and then skipped away. Matt grinned after her. Well, if Maria thought it was a good idea, then it couldn't be that bad. After all, she'd spent more time with Sevina than anyone recently.

**A/N: So, WrestleMania is getting closer...Matt's plans are coming together..(wondering what they are?) and now Maria's in on it too. Will she crack and tell Sevina? Will she slap more people? Who's gonna win the Ladder Match? Will I ever stop asking these questions? Find out soon! Final handful of chapters are coming up! I'm writing them as I type this..well, sort of. Review! Thanks once again to I Luv Hardy, Musichick06 and DragonMoonStone, I can honestly say that without your reviews, I wouldn't have kept writing this and I love you all :D **


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: So this chapter is my attempt at capturing the build up to WM from a Superstar's point-of-view, I really tried to encapsulate the emotion and excitement of the event. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)**

"Hi, what's your name?"

"Lisa."

"Hi, Lisa. I'm Sevina."

"I-I know. I watch you all the time. I want to be like you one day, but I'm not good at sports or anything." Sevina smiled at the girl, she must have been in her early teens, very pretty and her hands were shaking on the poster she was holding. Sevina gently took it from her and signed it; _To Lisa, thanks for the support. Follow your dreams and see where they lead you. Lots of love, Sevina. _The girl beamed, thanked her and went to walk away. "Wait." Sevina called her back and then came around the table. She dipped into her bag and pulled out a Polaroid camera. She took a couple of photos of her with Lisa, then got the girl's mom to take one of them. She signed the print-outs and gave them to her, gripping her shoulder lightly. "Don't ever give up on your dreams. You can be anything and anybody you want to." There were tears in the young girl's eyes as she hugged Sevina tightly before running off.

Sevina moved to sit back behind the table. She talked as much as she could to each of the people who came up for her autograph or for pictures with her. In her mind, this was what her job was about, reaching out to the people who watched the shows and held onto the dreams of one day reaching those heights. She'd never had encouragement to follow her dreams and she felt it was kind of her duty to make sure she gave to others, the support she had never received. She enjoyed doing the meet and greets, getting to really absorb the excitement of the people she talked to. They were all so hyped for WrestleMania. A few of them weren't going to actually be able to go to the show, but were going to be watching from home or some of the venues that were showing it. Las Vegas had well and truly endorsed itself with WrestleMania fever.

The day passed far too quickly and Sevina didn't manage to see all of the people that she wanted to, but she knew she'd be back the following day for the press conference and then more meet and greets. Matt and Jeff were flying in tomorrow and then the countdown really started. As she thought about it, Sevina could feel the nerves and the excitement shooting up even further. She jumped into the limo that would take them back to their hotel and sat down beside Drew who was arguing with Tyson over the last Mountain Dew in the refrigerator. Sevina lifted her eyebrows at them both, then grabbed the can, opened it and took a long drink from it. Drew and Tyson both stared at her like she'd just committed some atrocity, but she just smiled innocently at them. "Oh…did you guys want this?" She grinned and then put the can down. "Y'know, I'm not really that thirsty anymore." She shrugged and sat back with both men now glaring at her.

She had decided that she liked Las Vegas. It was hot and it was tacky, filled with whores and casinos, but there was something charming about it, something addictive that made you want to see it all and do as much as you possibly could. She had literally cried with laughter when they'd passed the first of many drive-thru wedding chapels. The entire concept was hilarious to her. Only in Vegas.

They were staying 'Caesar's Palace.' It was garish and over the top, but Sevina loved it. It had so much character. She spent ages staring at the faux marble pillars, shaped to look like the famous Roman architecture. For some reason she found it all fascinating. A lot of the other superstars were intrigued and addicted to the casinos, so much so that on their second day, all WWE personnel had been banned from gambling and as of today, they were not allowed to drink either. This was no bother for Sevina, but the others seemed to think that it took way from the entire point of Vegas.

When she reached the hotel she took a shower and changed into a pair of combat pants and a bright blue hoodie. She then got in her rental and drove to the arena. She weaved through the massive equipment trucks, but stopped in shock and stared at the side of one of them. All the trucks bore the faces of the superstars that were headlining, so it was like having the breath knocked out of her to see her own face, flanked on either side by Kane and The Undertaker, pasted to the side of one of the trucks. She quickly took out her camera and her phone and took several pictures on both. The ones on her phone she sent straight to Matt and the ones on her camera she would send to her family. They were not going to believe this. She also took pictures of the other trucks, especially the one with matt and Jeff's faces on them.

She stared at the enlarged face of Jeff and frowned a little. The pain was still there, underneath the enthusiasm and excitement that being here was generating. It still hurt to look at him, to try and figure out what he had been thinking. She was probably one of the only people who could pick up on the slight exasperation and amusement in the picture. To almost anyone else he would just look intense and menacing. It wasn't fair that she had to know him that well. She shook her head and walked into the arena. The set was still being constructed, the ring was already set up, looking so small surrounded by the vastness of the space. She walked to it, running her hand over the apron and then climbed inside. She stood in the centre and tilted her head back to look up at the exposed sky. It was an open-top arena with a roof that would slide closed if the weather got bad.

She looked down the ramp towards the stage, feeling a thrill of excitement, knowing she was going to be walking down that in four short days. It stood about eight feet off the ground, towering high over the lower crowd. The titantron, which was now being constructed was enormous. Sevina turned in a full circle, looking at all of the seats. This event had been sold out for months, long before the matches had even been announced and that was all the indication she needed to understand how big this was. This was a huge event for so many people, like a Mecca, a holy ground and pilgrimage for wrestlers and wrestling fans alike. This was the dream, to make it here. To stand in this ring and look out at the thousands of fans and bathe in their enjoyment, in their dedication and love for this industry. Here they worshipped at the alter of their fans and were worshipped in return. Heel or face, Diva or Superstar, Champion or Rooky, this was where everyone in the WWE wanted to end up.

"Kinda overwhelming, isn't it?" Sevina jumped and turned to find that she had been joined by Jim Ross, the voice of WrestleMania. Sevina smiled at him a little nervously. She had never really spoken to him outside of the ring. "It's…indescribable." JR nodded and walked to stand beside her, his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Sevina had never seen him in jeans, but even with them he wore a t-shirt under a tailored suit jacket. He looked around the arena, looking at the things he knew so well regardless of the location. "It still gives me chills. Even after all these years. This is what we work all year for." He looked at Sevina, smiling at her and Sevina couldn't help but smile back, feeling the strange urge to hug him. "I'm kinda scared. I know I'm not in the match, but…" She trailed off and JR nodded. He put a hand on her shoulder and looked at her wisely. "I don't know you very well, I've never had much chance to talk to you, but I've watched you since you started and it's a pleasure to watch you. They wouldn't have put you here if they didn't think you could do it. The fans love you and that's the biggest compliment you could ever receive." Sevina smiled at him and this time she did hug him. He seemed a little surprised, but returned the embrace. When she pulled away he was blushing a little. "Thank you, JR. Will you be commentating?" JR nodded, grinning now, looking around again. "Yeah. Me and King will be here. It would be very strange not to be." They both drifted into their thoughts, just looking around at the unbelievable structure that was being built before their eyes. JR suddenly looked at her. "Ever had a proper, good ol' fashioned Oklahoma barbeque?" Sevina shook her head, her expression curious. JR grinned. "Well, come on. You haven't tasted anything til you've tasted JR's barbeque sauces." Sevina laughed and nodded, following him out of the arena.


	35. Chapter 35

Jeff shifted impatiently in his seat as the plane landed in Las Vegas and shot up as soon as he was allowed to. Matt snorted with laughter at his brother's excitement and stood up in a deliberately slow movement, causing Jeff to bounce up and down on the spot. "Come on, Matt! I wanna go see the arena!" Matt was betting that wasn't the only thing he wanted to see. He grabbed his bag and followed Jeff as he all but sprinted through the airport to the baggage collection. Jeff was shouting at the carousel. "Come on, mother fucker! I got places to be y'hear me, boy!" Matt smirked and slapped him. "Can you not channel Itchweeed in a public place, please?" Jeff looked at him and the shrugged before settling down slightly.

Once they had collected their baggage they went to the arrivals gate. Sevina was there, but she wasn't alone. She was stood with none other than Jim Ross and they were talking animatedly. Matt lifted his eyebrows in surprise. Was there anyone she didn't make friends with these days? When she looked up and spotted them, her face split into an almost breathtaking grin and she waved. She jumped on Matt, hugging him tightly as Jeff shook his hands with JR. "Good to see you again, Jeff. Excited for Sunday?"

"More than I can describe." Jeff grinned, accepted the rather smaller hug from Sevina before they all traipsed out. Jeff let out a low whistle when they got outside. "It's hot here." Sevina nodded, unlocking the car. "We are in the desert, Jeffrey." She shrugged and then they all piled in.

When they arrived at the hotel, Matt started laughing and poking fun at the faux marble pillars, which earned him a slap across the back of the head from Sevina. He pouted at her, but her expression was threatening. JR laughed and then excused himself. Once he was gone, Matt nudged Sevina. "So, you met JR, huh?" Jeff also looked at her, curious as to how that friendship had come about. Sevina smiled, nodding. "Yeah, he fed me."

"Ah! That explains it!" Matt laughed and ducked as Sevina swung for him. Sevina was very much someone who appreciated food, she didn't shy away from it like a lot of the divas. They teased her for it sometimes, but only ever in fun. They were quietly glad that she had never given in to the 'size zero' craze. She was real and that was made her appealing to the fans and to the people in her life. Sevina wasn't skinny, nor was she fat. She was toned and well taken care of. She didn't always eat healthily, but she fought to keep her weight up and within the healthy levels. Currently she was at the thinnest she had ever been, but that was fading as she got back into her normal routines. Her job was no longer in jeopardy.

The eye candy divas, who never wrestled were encouraged to be as thin and perfect as possible, as with any major corporation, but the ones who worked hard for their keep were kept under strictly governed rules. They were not allowed to fall under the required weight or they would be put into rehabilitation or released. It was a harsh world that they lived in, where image was important, too important sometimes. The women in the WWE were often objectified and made to seem weak and unintelligent. Sevina hated that. She hated that so much talent went to waste and was grateful that she had been given the opportunity to prove to herself and to the fans, that she was more than just a pretty face.

Once Matt and Jeff had dropped their bags off, they all headed to the arena. It was almost completely set up now. Jeff wandered of to the gorilla position and Matt and Sevina stood in the ring. Sevina leaned over the ropes to talk to Drew who had wandered over. Matt stood in the centre of the ring and took a deep breath, closing his eyes and soaking in the feel of the arena. This wasn't his first WrestleMania, but the feeling never faded. The excitement and the pure anticipation never ceased to overwhelm him. No matter what city they were in, it didn't matter, all that mattered was the feeling, the knowledge that they were going to create something spectacular, something that would be remembered and talked about for years to come.

Sevina checked the time and squeaked a little. They needed to move if they wanted to get to the press conference in time. She collected Matt and Jeff and they headed off. She waved to them both and she went to take her seat on the panel with Glen and Mark. Jeff and Matt were at the opposite end of the long desk that had been set up. Vince McMahon took centre stage as the various reporters and fans took their seats. "Ladies and Gentlemen, our superstars will now answer your questions about WrestleMania this Sunday."

He carefully picked out the reporters and Sevina was utterly absorbed in what was going on, listening to the questions and answers, so it caught her a little by surprise when one was addressed at her. "Sevina, how do you feel about your brothers going into a match against your former best friends , one of whom was your boyfriend?" Sevina looked at the man who had spoken and frowned a little, quickly regaining her sense of character. "Well, it's a difficult situation, of course, but would you expect anything less from WrestleMania? This is the grandest stage of them all and the stakes are at their highest. My brothers and I are very confident about the outcome of the match." She looked at Kane a.k.a Glen as if asking for approval. He gave the smallest nod. The reporter then spoke to Matt and Jeff. "How does it feel to be going into a match as personal as this one?"

Matt shifted a little in his seat before speaking. "Being here at WrestleMania, fighting for something this important, it's what we live for. We will not give up and we will not fall. This Sunday, you're going to see the Hardy Boyz better than ever, taking more risks and pushing harder than ever because this is our time to shine, to show the world that we will not be intimidated."

There was a cheer from the fans that were assembled in the back. The next question was aimed at Jeff. "What will you do if you lose, Jeff? What happens if the woman you love is taken away from you forever and not only that, you have to give up your job at SmackDown?" Jeff took a deep breath, his eyes travelling down to find Sevina. She didn't look at him, so didn't see the very obvious sincerity in his face. "I wont give up. I wont walk away. Facing the prospect of losing is not something I am going to do. We're going to win and we're going to make things right."

Sevina's eyes flicked to him and she frowned slightly, ignoring the flashbulbs going off and capturing the moment. They just looked at one another, both trying to silently communicate their feelings, whilst being certain the other did not feel the same way.

The press conference finished up and they had to go straight into the meet and greet. Sevina was quietly grateful. The busier they were, the less she could get nervous about what was going to happen in two days. It made the time go so much quicker. They sat down at the table and then the fans were let in. At first it was like being swamped, but slowly order started to resume. Sevina saw some of the people from the previous day again and gently explained that there were so many people to talk to that she couldn't sign more autographs for them.

She saw Lisa again, not lining up for an autograph, just standing and watching. She flashed her a smile and beckoned her over. "Hey, Lisa. How are you?" Lisa seemed a little short of breath and very nervous as she stood looking at Sevina. "I-I'm okay. Thank you." Sevina smiled at her and patted the empty seat next to her. "Why don't you sit with me for a while and see how this all works?" Lisa's eyes grew wide, but she sat down immediately. The longer she sat there, the more comfortable she became and the more she opened up and talked to Sevina. She waited patiently as Sevina talked to the other fans, seeming grateful just to be there.

When the signing session was over, Sevina looked at Lisa, then sighed her shirt and couple of other things for her. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm sorry if I got in the way at all." Sevina shook her head, hugging her. "You didn't. Thank you for keeping me company. Here, I have one last thing for you." She had been hoping to see Lisa again today. She reached into her bag and pulled out a thin, white, rectangular envelope. She handed it to her. "I know you said you couldn't come on Sunday…" Lisa frowned a little and then opened the envelope with shaking fingers. She let out a high pitched scream and threw her arms around Sevina, her hand keeping a very tight hold on the tickets she had just received. Sevina laughed and returned the embrace, then wiped some of the tears from Lisa's face. "I was never good at sports as a kid either, Lisa. I just started with a dream and I followed it." She hugged her again and then watch her run off to tell her mom about the ringside tickets she'd just been given. Sevina smiled to herself and then looked at Matt who had appeared at her side. He was looking at Lisa's retreating back and grinning slightly. Sevina tilted her head at him. "What?" He looked at her and shrugged. "She reminds me of you."

"Yeah…me too." Sevina smiled and then grabbed her bag. "Come on. Let's get back to the hotel. I'm starving." Matt nodded in agreement and once they'd grabbed Jeff they headed out. Maria met them at the hotel and threw herself at Sevina, sending both women tumbling to the ground amidst laughter and tangle limbs. "Boop!"

"Vina!" They both got to their feet and hugged a little less violently. They all headed to the hotel restaurant to get something to eat, Maria and Sevina led the conversation, talking almost constantly, only letting Matt and Jeff interrupt every few minutes. Sevina had never been the kind of person who indulged in gossip or squealed as a new piece of juicy information, but Maria seemed to bring it out in her. Maria's personality, coupled with the excitement for Sunday made for an extremely hyperactive Sevina and since Jeff was off limits, she had no mischievous outlet for it, which resulted in her and Maria getting louder and more high pitched with every passing minute.

Matt leaned towards Jeff, muttering quietly; "I think they've actually reached a frequency that only dogs can hear." Jeff laughed, choking on his drink slightly. Matt thumped him helpfully on the back and then looked at him innocently as he apologise to Sevina and Maria for interrupting their conversation. He watched Sevina's face as she went back to talking, she was so obviously genuinely excited about being here and Jeff wished he could have a proper part in sharing that with her. He wished he could talk to her about it, ask her how she was feeling and her be unable to express the words through sheer over-excitement. That was how this was supposed to be, but it was turning out how none of them had ever planned it. Matt was as involved as he had ever been, but Jeff had to take a back seat. He had to stay in the background and be quietly proud of her as she embraced the success that was coming her way. This Sunday would ensure her place in the WWE for a very long time.

She had worked so hard to get here, fought every day for the dream that her father had tried to suppress and now that she had it, it was as if all the criticism, all the doubt that had plagued her steps through childhood were falling away and she was free to be the person that she wanted to be. No-one was going to mock her now, no-one was going to try and belittle her hopes, or make her feel stupid for daring to have them. The anger and resentment, the rebellion that had first fuelled her had given way to a true passion for what she did and it was wonderful to watch. Jeff was only sad that he couldn't have the role in it that he had always thought he would.


	36. Chapter 36

The next day was hectic, more than Sevina could have anticipated. She hadn't expect everything to be so rushed. She was herded first to another meet and greet and then to the arena to finalise her entrance. She was shown where she was allowed to be and where she wasn't. She received several warnings of when not to enter the ring and not to interfere. She was given certain safety instructions and what to do in the event that she found herself somewhere that she shouldn't be. She'd heard it all a thousand times before, but found herself listening intently, simply because it took her mind off the nervousness she was feeling. She could hardly believe that she was going to do it. In twenty-four hours she was going to be at WrestleMania.

Matt and Jeff were at the arena with her, as were Glen and Mark, going through their entrances and setting up some of the finer details of the match, preparing for the particularly difficult or risky parts. Sevina tried not to listen to them. Partly because she wanted to enjoy the match, not just as a participant, but as a fan, but also because it worried her. She heard Jeff mention a leapfrog over one of the twenty foot ladders and it sent a shudder down her spine. She knew what could happen is anything went wrong, she knew how dangerous it was and it scared her. Four people she cared a great deal for, where going to be putting their bodies and their careers on the line for the sake of making it a match to remember.

She nodded as her safety advisor finally finished his speech. She confirmed that she had been listening by answering a few questions, then she rolled into the ring. She just sat in the centre of the canvas, wrapping her arms loosely around her legs as she looked around. She felt a strange sense of calm come over her. This was it. This was what all her years of work had been leading up to. She'd made it. She'd done the things she set out to do and she felt proud. However the match ended, whatever happened, she would always have this memory of being part of something amazing.

She let her breath out slowly and tilted her head back, closing her eyes. Even now, with no fans, the arena felt electrified, as if it too, were anticipating the arrival of greatness the following day. It was a bizarre atmosphere, like everything was suspended in time, just waiting. Time was dragging far too slowly and Sevina couldn't wait. She wanted it to be here now, but at the same time she wanted to savour the moment. She wanted to enjoy the build up, knowing that there was only one 'first time'. She wanted to remember each second of it.

She was dragged from her thoughts by Matt's voice from the outside of the ring. "Vina, we gotta go over to creative." She opened her eyes and looked at him, then nodded and slid out of the ring. They had to go and finalise script for the show. They were being given a lot of freedom with what they wanted to say and do, but they had to follow a certain skeleton and make sure things ended up where they were supposed to be. Once they'd been to the creative department, they went straight to wardrobe and styling. Sevina picked out her outfit, taking her time, wanting it to be just right. She then sat in the chair and let the stylists work over her. She made occasional points, refusing extremely heavy make-up, but saying 'yes' to one thing that she thought would be a surprise for Matt and Jeff. She was patient as the make-up artists tried several different looks for her. She turned most of them down and utterly refused to put on fake tan.

Sevina didn't like to cover herself in cosmetics, she was what she was and she might not have been perfect but she didn't want to cover it up with tonnes of paste and colour. She didn't want to promote that image. Maria joined her, sitting in the chair next to hers, doing almost the exact opposite as Sevina. She was very specific about what she wanted and what she didn't. She flipped through the books, picking out a shade of tan, eye shadow, lip gloss and everything else she wanted. It was clear that she was used to this. Maria wasn't in a match, she was appearing in a backstage segment with a group of other divas.

Sevina was finally let go after two hours and she went straight to the gym in the hotel. She needed to blow off some steam. She was getting really nervous now. She took her ipod and turned it up loud as she took to the treadmill. She let the exercise and the music take everything away. She tried not to think of the next day, because every time she did, she felt like she might be sick. The pressure was high and she wasn't sure if her mind was ready to deal with the weight of her self doubt and excitement just yet.

It was quite late by the time she decided to quit for the night and the gym had emptied of any other people. Sevina pulled her earphones out and looked around. The only remaining monitor was stood by the door, looking bored. She felt a little guilty for making him stay so late. She apologised and then went to grab a shower. She continued to force her thoughts to the back of her mind as she pulled on her jeans and t-shirt. She glanced at the time and decided to go and see if anyone else was around. She checked the bar and the lounge, but everyone seemed to have gotten an early night. Well, not surprising really. WrestleMania was tomorrow.

Just like that she wasn't able to hold it in anymore. She was stood in the lobby as it built up and she let out a squeal and jumped up and down for a few moments before running up the stairs. She ignored the strange looks she received and then burst into her room. She fell on the bed and wriggled out of her clothes, puling the blankets over her, though she didn't really need them. It was already warm enough here. As she lay there, she relaxed and let it hit her. All the excitement and the nerves, the anticipation. She acknowledged the worry that she would go out there and stink the place out and make a complete fool of herself and the slight sadness that she couldn't be sat in Jeff's room right now, talking to him and Matt about her worries.

Above anything else, she was aware of the sheer overwhelming pride and that sense of not being able to wait. She felt like a child on Christmas Eve. She wanted to go now and just wait in the arena. She knew she wouldn't sleep, but she tried. She closed her eyes, but all she could see were images of possibilities. What might happen the following day. She tossed and turned, throwing her blankets off, only to drag them back a few minutes later.

She finally gave up, climbing out of bed and pulling on a pair of sweat pants and a baggy t-shirt. She shoved her feet into her boots and headed down to the bar to get a hot drink. She was surprised to find Jeff and Matt sat at a table, talking quietly. Sevina ordered herself a hot chocolate and then went over to them. "Hey. Can I join you?" They both nodded and she sat down. Matt looked at her sympathetically. "Can't sleep?" Sevina shook her head. "Not even close." Matt laughed. He had the same problem, as did Jeff. They always had trouble sleeping before WrestleMania, whether they were competing in it or not.

The three of them talked for a while. Well, Matt and Jeff talked, or Sevina and Matt talked. Mostly they talked about the following day, none of them seemed able to stray far from the subject. It was almost therapeutic, being able to talk about it, let the insane excitement out. It was unsurprising that it didn't remain just the three of them for long as one by one the other superstars joined them, all of them unable to sleep. It was the early hours of the morning before they decided that they really should go and try to get some sleep. Sevina left first, waving as she went.

She got back into bed and still didn't feel tired, but she knew she needed to rest. She may not be wrestling, but the pressure of the situation would be hard to handle if she was tired. She pulled her ipod out and put it on. She closed her eyes and sank into the music, trying to make her mind rest. Telling herself that there was no point worrying about it now, it would only make time go slower. Her mind didn't really listen, but she felt better for at least trying. At some point she did fall asleep, but she had no memory of even feeling tired.


	37. Chapter 37

Sevina shot awake, gasping and scrabbled for her clock. She stared at the time. It was seven-thirty. Her alarm wasn't set to go off until eight. The dream had been so vivid, she had been two hours late, she'd been certain of it. She threw the clock across the room and closed her eyes again, laying a hand over them. Then it hit her. It was WrestleMania today! She bolted into a sitting position and gasped as excitement and nerves swept over her body. She let it roll over her waves for a moment, knowing there was no chance she'd get back to sleep now. She jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom. She took a shower, which lasted longer than her usual ones. She was trying to kill time.

She threw on her sweats and a hoodie, shoving her feet into her sneakers and checking that she didn't look a total wreck before she left her room. She then swore and ran back inside, grabbing her phone, her keys and her bag, all of which she had managed to forget. She had arranged to meet Maria in the lobby. She was early but she didn't care. Sitting around in the hotel room was going to drive her crazy. She laughed out loud when she saw that Maria was already waiting for her, bouncing up and down. "Hey, Boop." The hotel around them was already a hive of activity, superstars were coming and going restlessly, no-one seeming to know totally what to do with themselves. Sevina grimaced a little and looked at Maria. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast."

Maria nodded in agreement and they left. They both tried to eat a fairly nutritional breakfast, but their excited stomachs couldn't hold it, so in the end they gave up and ordered some pancakes. They took them to go, both cradling the polystyrene boxes as they wandered around the area, taking everything in. They didn't talk much, there weren't words to describe how they felt, but Sevina couldn't help remarking on it being the first time Maria had shut up for more than five minutes in the whole time they'd known each other. In response, Maria threw a half-eaten pancake at her head.

Sevina's laughter was interrupted by the sound of her cell. She pulled it from her pocket and hit the answer button. "Ataera."

"Vina, hey, it's Matt. Where are you?"

"Getting breakfast with Ria. What's up?"

"Just got a call from creative, there's been some changes to the script." Sevina listened and her eyebrows went up, but she nodded slowly even though he couldn't see her. "Okay, that's…unexpected but it's cool. No problem."

"Alright, well, Jeff and I are gonna head over to the arena at about three. Meet you there?"

"You bet. Bye Matt." She hung up and then looked at Maria who was staring dreamily into space. "What?" Maria grinned mischievously, remembering the plan that Matt had hatched, but she wasn't about to break her promise, so she answered with a very honest thought, but not the one she'd been thinking. "Matt's yummy." Sevina stared at her, then made a disgusted face. "Maria, that's gross. Seriously, I'm eating here." Maria giggled and shook her pretty head. "Oh come on. You had a romantic storyline with him when you were on Raw. Is he a good kisser?"

"Yes…no...Ew! Ria!" Sevina screwed her nose up and then tossed her pancakes in the nearest bin. Maria giggled more, finding Sevina's discomfort extremely amusing. They two women bickered about it as they headed back to the hotel. "Listen, Boop. I'm gonna go bust an hour in the gym." Maria nodded and waved, jogging away to talk to Mickie who had just appeared. Sevina smiled and headed to the gym. She stuck her ipod on and started a rather vigorous work out. It cleared her mind. It took her to a purely physical place where there was nothing but the burn in her muscles and the sound of her heart beat and her breathing. She was so caught up in it, that she ended up pushing another hour. She then went straight to the sauna. She wrapped her towel around herself and sat on the wooden slats, perfectly alone in the steamy room. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing, which felt like it was going to start accelerating at any moment if she only let her thought linger over that night's events for even a moment.

She managed to waste forty-five minutes in the sauna before going for a shower. She was feeling a lot more relaxed, but knew that once she got outside, it was all going to come rushing back. She checked the time. She didn't have to meet Matt and Jeff for two hours. What was she going to do with herself? Luckily for her, a group of WWE performers were all going out to lunch and she was invited along. She enthusiastically agreed and everyone seemed to be of the same understanding that they needed to kill some time.

Mainly she just listened to the others as they talked about the upcoming show. She joined in when the need called for it, but she was rather lost in her own thoughts. She was wondering what Matt and Jeff were doing. Were they as excited as she was? Why wasn't she spending this time with them? She already knew why, but it still felt wrong. She loved her new friends, but she missed hanging out with Matt and Jeff all the time.

-----

"Jeff? Jeff? Jeff!"

"Dude, what?!" Jeff looked at Matt, frowning slightly. "I was asking you how you're feeling about tonight."

"Oh. Okay, I guess. Nervous. There's a lot of big moves." Matt nodded. He was feeling nervous as well. It had been a while since the Hardy Boyz had been in a big tag team match and even longer since they had been at WrestleMania as a tag team. He wondered if they would get the same kind of reception that they had in the past. Would they be able to live up to the expectations? Would they be as good as they once were? He shook these thoughts away. They weren't helpful and they were just making him more nervous.

Jeff had drifted off into his thoughts again, wondering what Sevina was doing and if she was alright. He knew how nervous she got and was hoping she wasn't pacing her room, working herself up as she had been known to do in the past. He hoped she wasn't alone. He wished he could be with her, that he could give her the support he had always intended to, but right now, with things being how they were, that would be the exact opposite of helpful. He trusted her other friends to make sure she was okay. It wasn't his job anymore. At least, not right now.

He followed Matt down to the gym. They'd just had lunch, both eating more meat than usual, but Jeff was addicted to carbs and couldn't resist having pasta with his steak. They both had a strict regime of eating carbs in the morning, but as the day went on they tried to eat more meat to get the extra protein. It fuelled them for their last workout before the match. Both pushed themselves quite hard, testing their limits, making sure they were totally ready for what was coming. Glen and Mark were fierce. Jeff was just grateful that they weren't going up against Mark's undefeated, singles match streak. Mark would not have given that up lightly.

Mark was awe-inspiring to Jeff. He was the most respected man in the locker room and he carried himself with so much dignity, but he never ran out of time for other people. He took the time to make sure everyone was alright. If someone had a problem, Mark would be there to sort it out. His undefeated streak at WrestleMania in singles matches was unparalleled and Jeff pitied anyone who had to try and either compete with it, or end it. Mark was very refined and quiet outside of the ring, but when he got in there, he truly became the monster. He was the big dog and if you messed with him, you got bitten. A lot of rooky stars would be very careful not to actually hit their opponent when ringing off the big moves, but not Mark. He hit it every single time. If you couldn't take the pace, you didn't deserve to be there.

Jeff had already proved that he could stand shoulder to shoulder (not literally, the guy was huge!) with Mark in the ring, but putting both him and Glen in there was a purely terrifying prospect and Jeff knew this was going to hurt. His body tensed in response, as if getting ready for a sudden blow. Matt noticed. "Thinking about that chokeslam?" He snickered and Jeff nodded, subconsciously rubbing his throat. "Or the tombstone. Either one. That's a long drop. Glen's seven feet tall. Dude, that's only a foot shorter than the stage. That's gonna hurt."

Matt laughed again, but it had an edge to it this time and Jeff could tell he was imagining it. "Oh and trust me, getting chokeslammed off a ladder, is not as fun as it looks. That hurt for a week!" Matt looked at Jeff with wide eyes. He could all too clearly remembering seeing his brother plummet to the mat after being thrown from the ladder in his match against Mark. He shuddered and shook his head. "Dude, stop it! You're freaking me out!" Jeff laughed this time. Winding Matt up was fun and it took his mind of everything else. Matt had never been in a match against Mark, so he'd never experienced the feeling of being crushed under the sheer weight of who he was. Stepping into the ring with Mark was to give up size to the veteran. He knew that ring like no-one else and he could work it however he wanted. If he wanted to hurt you, he'd hurt you and no-one would think he wasn't supposed to. He was intimidating without even trying and it was worse if he didn't like you. Mark never made any illusions when he didn't like someone. He seemed to find a kind of sadistic glee in getting the chance to punch someone in the head and not get in trouble for it.

Matt shifted uncomfortably on the weight bench and then sat up. He looked at Jeff and rubbed his palms together. "We should probably head over to the arena soon." His words brought Jeff back to reality and the nerves hit him again. He nodded mutely and stood up. He looked at the time. It was two-thirty. Wow, that had gone fast.

He took a deep breath, then he and Matt hit the showers. Jeff emerged much sooner than Matt and stood in the hall waiting for him, shifting it weight nervously from one foot to the other. When Matt finally emerged they were both silent. Neither was able to voice what they were thinking, but what Jeff couldn't have known was that Matt wasn't just nervous about the match. Tonight, his plan went into action and he was a little uncertain of how it would end up. He didn't want to make things worse. Maria had been constantly reassuring him, telling him it was a good idea, but it didn't stop him from feeling anxious about it.


	38. Chapter 38

Sevina was sat in her dressing room with her head in her hands. She was hyperventilating. She could hear the crowd. It sounded massive, so much bigger than she could ever remember before. Her head felt like it was going to explode. She was excited but she was also supremely nervous. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart. She looked across to her chosen outfit and slowly stood up. She was shaking. She stopped and scowled, before hopping up and down, shaking her hands vigorously. That done, she began changing. She pulled on the specially made leather pants that had bright red stitching and a subtle hint of blue to them when the light hit. They fit her perfectly. She stretched in them, making sure they weren't going to split or rip. She then carefully tied her corset, trying not to let her fingers fumble. It was blood red with black stitching and black laces. The black also gave off that same hint of blue, just tiny suggestions of the character underneath the one she would be playing, almost like a subliminal message to the crowd.

She sat down at the dressing table and pulled on her boots, which had been changed for the event. They were black and red still, but they had her name running along the side in dark blue. She laced them up, just finishing as the make-up artist and hairdresser entered the room. She sat quietly as they worked on her, not protesting. One of them went to turn the stereo on, but she told them not to. Instead she put her earphones in and switched on Staind, So Far Away.

It was another thirty minutes before they stepped away from her. She pulled the earphones out and stared at her reflection. Her eyes were surrounded by dark black liner, dusting out with blood red eye shadow with a tiny hint of gold in it. Her lips were a nude pink, but it was her hair that caught her attention. It was still black, with the red streak in the front, but it was long now. She had agreed to let them put extensions in, knowing it would shock Matt and especially Jeff. After tonight he was going to tell her he wanted to walk out of her life and she was going to tell him that she loved him. But she wasn't going to say it as the woman she'd become, but as the woman he'd known before all this. The length of her hair, the way it swept about her face and over her shoulders was almost exactly how she'd had it when she'd first joined the WWE. It was the same style that Jeff had always loved. She smiled at the hairdresser and make-up artist. "Thank you. It's perfect." They left immediately, having a lot of other people to get around to.

Sevina sat back in her chair and let her breath out slowly. She then stood up and collected herself before leaving the room. She had a small vignette to film. She waved at the camera crew and then walked down the hall as they began filming. A hand grabbed her arm and she turned sharply to look at Jeff. She saw the surprise register on his face as he took in her appearance and there was a long, painful silence as he stared at her, before he seemed to remember himself and his line. "Sevina, I need to talk to you."

Sevina pulled her arm free violently and stepped away from him. "No. I don't have anything to say to you."

"Sevina, this might be my last chance to talk to you."

"I don't care." She spoke through gritted teeth as Jeff's face became pleading. "Please, Sevina."

"No, Jeff… I can't." The last two words were gasped and she turned and walked away. The cameras cut and Sevina stopped walking. She looked at Jeff, who had tilted his head in a curious manner. "Your hair." Sevina nodded and reached up to touch her newly long hair, she couldn't quite get used to the weight of it. "I always like it long…I couldn't say no when they offered me extensions." Jeff nodded slowly and Sevina could have sworn he looked disappointed. Maybe some part of him suspected the real reason she'd had the extensions put in. She bit her lip and then excused herself. There were only fifteen minutes until the match and Sevina wanted to go and find Mark and Glen.

She had met up with Matt and Jeff as arranged earlier, but the schedule had soon swept her away from them. She hit a few fives with the other superstars that she passed, almost getting mowed down by Randy Orton at one point. She had never really spoken to Randy and was surprised to find him very apologetic and polite. As she walked away, she couldn't help but grin at her own foolishness of buying into the storyline character, despite being part of this business. She shook her head and found Glen and Mark, talking as they stretched. She waved to them. "Hey guys. You ready?" They both grinned at her. She hugged them both, needing to do something just to keep moving and not let the nerves get the better of her. Mark wasn't convinced. He rubbed her back gently. "Don't worry, Kiddo. This is gonna be great. You'll see." Sevina nodded, but didn't speak. She looked at Glen who was smiling and hopping lightly on the spot, rolling his neck. This was a big match for all of them.

One of the crew suddenly appeared. "You're up in five." Sevina turned very white and thought she was going to throw up. Glen sensed it and caught hold her arm, speaking in a bracing tone. "Relax. Just breathe. Don't think, just breathe. Nice and slow. That's it. Now, walk. Just one step at a time. That's it. Nice and slow. Don't panic. Just walk. Don't forget to breathe, Sevina." Mark was on her other side, silent but ever present. Sevina was comforted. As they approached the curtain she caught sight of Matt and Jeff.

The four men all shook hands and Sevina hugged Matt and Jeff very tightly. "Be careful out there." They both shrugged off her worry, but upon seeing the look on her face, they promised. Their music hit and they banged their knuckles together before jumping up and down and then running through the curtain. Sevina half leaned against Glen as she waited. She still felt sick, but now, something else was trying to take over, something stronger, something overpowering. Then the music hit, then it was time. Her whole life and built up to this moment. She looked at Mark and Glen and then nodded. This was it…

**A/N: So it's the big moment! Who's gonna win? What is Matt planning? Well, you wont have to wait long because I am really into writing this, so it will probably be completed within the next 24hrs, if not sooner! Please review! We're coming to the end now! Only a few more chapters to go!**


	39. Chapter 39

She felt it, like a surge running through her. The nervousness fell away, giving way to pure excitement, pure enthusiasm. She felt strong and graceful, confident and pumped as the adrenalin flew through her body. She walked onto the ramp, a few paces behind Kane and The Undertaker. She lifted her chin an almost defiant way, glaring at the huge crowd. She took in their faces, their excitement, the assortment of cheers and boos. She looked towards the ring where Matt and Jeff were waiting. She made eye contact with both of them and they shared a moment. This was it. This was what she'd dreamed of and they were here together.

She took her place at ringside as Kane and The Undertaker entered the ring. The match started almost instantly as Jeff launched himself at Kane, hitting him with a powerful spear. Matt then fell to a hard clothesline from The Undertaker. Sevina could see the commentators chatting excitedly, but she couldn't hear them. All she could hear was the crowd. She clapped her hands in a rhythmic beat, amping them up even further as they responded with the same beat, magnified thousands of times.

Kane's boot met Jeff's face, knocking him down violently, as Matt slid out of the ring. He ran to the ladder which was set up on the ramp. He closed it and dragged it towards the ring. The Undertaker had followed him and knocked him down in the aisle. Matt pulled him self up and rammed the ladder into The Phenom, sending him flying back. Matt shoved the ladder into the ring where Kane instantly grabbed it and swung it around as if it weighed nothing, slamming it into Jeff's head, again knocking him down. Sevina was banging on the apron, not sure who she was cheering for. It didn't matter.

Jeff recovered as Kane grabbed his ankle and delivered a hard hitting Mule Kick. Kane let go and stumbled back. Jeff ran at the ropes, bouncing off and flying through the air and landing hard on Kane's chest. Matt was still grappling with Taker outside of the ring as the big man slammed him into the guard rail. Matt let out a bellow of pain and then speared Taker into the side of the ring. Taker responded by grabbing Matt and throwing him into the ring, before sliding under the ropes after him. He kicked him, sending him onto his back. Kane was down from a leg drop and Jeff came to his brother's aid. He'd managed to get his hands on a steel chair and smacked it across Taker's head, making him crumple. Kane and Taker were both down, so was Matt. Jeff quickly set up the ladder and began to climb towards the briefcase hanging over the ring. The briefcase which held the match contracts. He got five steps up, but Kane kicked the ladder, sending it toppling down and Jeff with it. Jeff hit the top rope and bounced out of the ring, hitting the matted floor hard. Sevina danced on the spot, seemingly fighting the urge to go and see if he was alright.

Kane followed Jeff out of the ring and threw him onto the announce table. Now Sevina did move. She was at Kane's side in an instant, grabbing his arm, screaming indecipherable words at him, begging him to stop. The time this took up, allowed Jeff to recover. He stood up on the announce table and then drop kicked Kane in the chest. It sent them both flying in opposite directions and Sevina jumped back.

"_Did you see that?! Jeff Hardy with a drop kick right in front of our eyes!"_

"_Yeah, I saw it! What was Sevina doing interfering! This isn't her match!"_

"_You've got understand the concern though, this is clearly very emotional for her! Her family versus the man she loves and her best friend!"_

"_Oh Matt Hardy goes down from a big boot from The Undertaker! That's gonna hurt in the morning!"_

"_I think that's gonna hurt right now! Oh no! Kane just hit Jeff Hardy with a steel chair right across the back!"_

"_You have to wonder if the Hardy Boyz are outmatched here."_

"_I don't think so. They specialise in Ladder Matches and if any tag team were strong enough to take on The Brothers of Destruction, it's got to be the Hardy Boyz!"_

"_Ouch! Matt Hardy slamming Taker's face off that ring post! Oh and the leg drop! Matt Hardy starting to gain some kind of momentum here! Can he hold onto it!"_

"_Apparently not, 'cause here comes Kane! With a straight shot to the face!"_

"_Jeff Hardy! Jeff Hardy! Top rope! Whisper in the Wind! Taking down Kane and The Undertaker in one!"_

"_Jeff Hardy just hit the Whisper in the Wind with more force and determination that we have ever seen from him!"_

"_Jeff Hardy, climbing the ladder! Come on, Jeff!"_

Jeff's fingers brushed the briefcase when the ladder was swept from under him for the second time. This time he crashed to the mat, landing on his back and writhing in pain. Kane grabbed his hair and dragged him to his feet, hitting him with a German Suplex, dumping him back first onto the fallen ladder. Matt was slowly starting to move, but Taker got there first, grabbing his arm, lifting him slowly to his feet. He twisted his shoulder around. Matt tried to get out of the hold, but Taker hit him across the face. Taker then climbed the turnbuckles and walked along the top rope. The crowd were on their feet, screaming for it. Taker then jumped, bringing his elbow down on Matt's shoulder, sending him crashing to the mat.

Now Kane set up the ladder and started to climb, but Jeff had crawled up and now grabbed onto his leg, hanging onto him. Kane tried to kick him off, but he refused to let go. Taker advanced on them, but Matt was up. He caught The Phenom in the Side Effect, then shoved the ladder, sending Kane down. He then jumped out of the ring and pulled out one of the twenty-foot ladders from underneath. He slid it into the ring and Jeff grabbed it, pulling it the rest of the way.

"_What are Matt and Jeff Hardy doing with that ladder?!"_

"_I don't know, but I get the feeling it's gonna hurt!"_

"_Kane stirring now. Sevina at ringside, not sure whether it's insults or encouragements that she's shouting at Kane there!"_

"_Oh! Undertaker just speared Matt Hardy into the ladder!"_

"_Oh my god! This is carnage! Each side hitting the big moves, trying to take the others out! Kane holding Matt Hardy now as The Undertaker delivers blows to the mid-section."_

"_Wait, what's Jeff Hardy doing?! He's got that ladder in the corner!"_

"_We've seen this before, but will he hit it!"_

"_Yes! Jeff Hardy with the leap frog over the ladder!"_

"_Kane and Taker are down!"_

"_But look, so is Matt Hardy, Jeff hit his own brother!"_

"_Jeff Hardy torn between wanting to help his brother and wanting to get that briefcase."_

"_Looks like he's decided to go for the briefcase!"_

"_He seems to be in some pain there! Struggling to climb the ladder!"_

"_Pain and determination on the face of the younger Hardy brother as he climbs that ladder!"_

"_Kane's on the ladder! Kane's on the ladder!"_

"_Can he reach Jeff in time?"_

"_Wait, what's Matt doing?!"_

"_He's set the other ladder up! The brothers exchange a look! What's going to happen here!"_

"_Jeff Hardy jumps off the ladder! Jeff Hardy throwing himself into the air and straight into The Undertaker!"_

"_Matt Hardy! Oh my god! Matt Hardy, whilst climbing the other ladder, just kicked the other one over! Kane's head just bounced off the mat! What an impact! Matt Hardy now within inches of reaching the briefcase!"_

The crowd sensed the end, but should have surely known better. Taker recovered and pushed the ladder off. Matt jumped off before it could do him any damage and landed safely on his feet. He then fell prey to an Irish Whip into the corner. Taker ran at him. Snake Eyes. Matt was down again. So were Jeff and Kane. Taker set up the ladder again and started climbing. He moved without hesitation, reaching for the briefcase.


	40. Chapter 40

"_The Phenom is so close! He's literally touching the briefcase!"_

"_And here comes Matt Hardy! He raced up that ladder!"_

"_The two of them exchanging blows now! You've gotta think that whoever falls off that ladder is going to lose this match!"_

"_Look! Jeff Hardy's moving! He's setting up another ladder!"_

"_He climbed that like the monkey bars! Now Jeff and Matt are both hitting out at The Undertaker!"_

"_Kane! Kane with yet another ladder!"_

"_All four of them are up there!"_

"_How many risks are these four men going to take!"_

"_They're all down! They're all down! All three ladders simultaneously knocked down! Oh my god!"_

"_It looks like a car wreck out there! And what must Sevina be thinking as she looks at this? Look at her face!"_

"_She looks absolutely horrified at what she's seeing! And you can't blame her! The four most important men in her life are lying motionless in the ring!"_

"_She's banging on the apron now, trying to rouse some kind of movement, trying to get something from them."_

"_The crowd here are the loudest they have been all night! They're willing one of these men to get to their feet and climb that ladder!"_

"_Jeff Hardy is the first to move. He's dragging himself to feet and the pain on his face tells the story of this match! There are no lengths these men will not go to for that woman!"_

"_Jeff Hardy setting up the ladder, obviously in a lot of pain."_

"_He's stopped. He's just looking at Sevina."_

"_Come on, Jeff! You don't have time!"_

Jeff started climbing, slowly and painfully. Sevina watched, biting her lip fiercely. He was two steps from the top when the weight on the ladder suddenly shifted. Kane was there too. He was gaining fast. Jeff had hold of the briefcase. Kane suddenly jumped from the ladder and kicked it out from under Jeff, leaving him hanging in midair. Jeff kicked his legs, trying to hold on, but it was useless. He fell and the crowd fell with him. They were every bit involved in this match, as much as the participants. Matt was moving now and he tried to help Jeff but Kane caught him by the throat. He waited a couple of seconds before launching Matt into the air and then slamming him back down with his infamous choke slam. Matt didn't move at all, just laid on the mat.

Jeff dragged himself up, running at Kane and spearing him, driving him back into the ropes. He then used the Irish Whip to send him flying across the ring to bounce of the others. Kane ducked, but Jeff caught him around the neck. He let out a wordless shout and then hit the Twist of Fate. Now Kane was down. Undertaker was up again, Jeff lunged for him, but Taker moved out of the way and caught him with a shoulder knock-down. He repeated the move three times and as Jeff ran towards him he suddenly lifted him and flipped him round. With only the merest hesitation, he drove Jeff's head into the mat with his signature Tombstone. That was surely it.

Taker was the only person moving in the ring now and he took his sweet time setting up the ladder.

"_The Undertaker stopping to stare at Sevina before starting the climb."_

"_The other three men are utterly motionless. Looks like this is it."_

"_A hard fought battle, but in the end, the power and size of the Phenom was just too much."_

"_Wait a minute! Wait a minute! What is this!?"_

"_How is this happening! That's gotta be impossible!"_

"_After a Tombstone Piledriver, Jeff Hardy is pulling himself to his feet!"_

"_The Undertaker can't believe it!"_

"_This kid will not die! He will not lay down for anyone!"_

"_He earned the Undertaker's respect last time, but this time I don't think it's respect that the Phenom is looking to dish out tonight!"_

"_Look out Jeff!"_

"_Undertaker coming away from the ladder! He's going to put Jeff Hardy away once and for all! Kane and Matt still unmoving!"_

"_Undertaker's hand gripping Jeff's throat!"_

"_Surely Hardy wont have the energy left to fight back!"_

"_Sevina is screaming at ringside!"_

"_Undertaker lifts Jeff Hardy into the air! He's going to bury him here and now!"_

"_Oh no! No way!"_

"_Jeff Hardy reversed it! Jeff Hardy with a DDT to The Undertaker!"_

"_Where did Hardy find the energy and the strength to do that!"_

"_Look at this! Where's Jeff Hardy going?!"_

"_He's climbing the ladder!"_

"_He's there! He's at the top! But…hold on! What's he doing!"_

"_Jeff Hardy throwing the guns into the air for this capacity crowd!"_

"_Get the briefcase Jeff! Get the briefcase and end this insanity!"_

"_Swanton! Swanton Bomb off the ladder!"_

"_Jeff Hardy just laid the smack down, with a Swanton Bomb off the top of that twenty-foot ladder onto The Undertaker!"_

"_Can he recover?!"_

"_He's up! He's moving! Somehow he's moving!"_

"_Jeff Hardy at the top of the ladder again!"_

"_Go on, Jeff! Go on, Jeff!"_

"_He's got it! Jeff Hardy's got the briefcase!"_

"_Jeff Hardy just won this match!_

The bell sounded and Jeff let go of the cable. He hit the mat and just collapsed, hugging the briefcase to his chest. He was breathing hard and his eyes were closed. That had been the most brutal match of his career, but the noise, the aches in his body were a reminder that it had also been one of the best. They'd pulled it all out, no holds barred, they had given this crowd something worth remembering. He turned his head to see Sevina watching him. She wasn't moving, but there were silent tears running down her face. He then looked across to Matt, who was lying in a similar position to himself. His brother slowly turned his head and met Jeff's gaze. He grinned and Jeff grinned back.

**A/N: So, now you know how the match ended. I really really loved writing this, so I hope you enjoyed reading it. And don't forget, there's still Matt's plans...and the final, big twist to this story. What will it be?! Stay tuned to find out! Final chapters coming up very soon! Three more and then it's all done! Please review!**


	41. Note

Hey, sorry if you guys thought this was an update.

Just want to let you know I will be posting the final three chapters within the next hour :)

Thanks for all your support!

I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it!

Keep a look-out for the upcoming finale!


	42. Chapter 41

Jeff pulled himself up and helped Matt to his feet. They celebrated in the ring as the officials ran down to check on Kane and The Undertaker. Sevina stayed ringside, just staring at Matt and Jeff as the officials helped Kane and Taker out of the ring and they started moving up the ramp. Matt suddenly cut the music and grabbed the mic. "Hey! You guys aren't going anywhere yet!"

Kane and The Undertaker turned back towards the ring. Matt glared at them before speaking again. "We still have to announce what we're taking from this match! Now, I know a lot of you will be thinking, we're going to demand that Kane and The Undertaker stay away from Sevina and that they quit SmackDown. Well, you'd be right about the first part." He looked toward the two men on the ramp. "You are never going to speak to or come near Sevina again! But, for the second part…we're not gonna demand that you quit." Jeff frowned at Matt. This wasn't in the script. He looked across to Sevina and saw his own confusion echoed in her face. Matt continued, hardly able to hold in his grin. "Instead, because we won, Jeff Hardy and Sevina Ataera, right here tonight at WrestleMania, are going to get married!"

The crowd exploded and the noise level hit an all-time high, but Sevina didn't hear it. She couldn't hear anything. She just stared in shock at Matt, totally blown out of character. Married? What? That definitely wasn't in the script! What was he doing? She flashed her gaze to Jeff. Had he known about this? She saw her own shock mirrored on his features. He'd been as oblivious to this as she was. What the hell was Matt doing?!

Kane and Taker glared at him, but neither showed the surprise that Sevina and Jeff were. They stalked up the ramp and disappeared. Sevina felt like her head was spinning as she tried to wrap her head around the situation. She didn't remember moving, she wasn't sure how she came to be backstage, all she knew was that once she was through the curtain she laid into Matt. "What the hell was that?!"

Jeff nodded, scowling at his brother, clearly as agitated as Sevina was. "You totally changed the script!" Matt simply looked at them both and folded his arms. "Well, actually, this has been in the script for a while, just not _your_ scripts." Sevina growled and shoved him hard. "What are you doing?!" Matt glared at her, grabbing her wrists so she couldn't push him again. "What you both should have been doing for months now! I am sick to death of you both telling me you're in love with the other, when you should be telling each other! You're making yourselves miserable and I've had enough of it! Now this is a legitimate wedding that we're hosting out there, unless you say otherwise. I suggest that you start talking before I am forced to smack your heads together!" He walked away then, leaving Sevina and Jeff to stare after him.

Finally, they looked at each other and after several long moments, Sevina sighed. "I think we should talk." Jeff nodded in agreement and they silently turned, walking down to Sevina's dressing room. Neither said a word. Once inside, Sevina slowly shut the door, leaning against it for a few moments, before turning to look at Jeff. They both just stood there, not saying anything, just looking at each other, drinking each other in as they both tried to process the bizarre situation that they had found themselves in. As far as Matt's plans went, this was a priceless one. Neither knew how to break the silence, neither felt brave enough to say the things that now needed to be said. Jeff found the courage first. He stepped towards her, but stopped, trying to collect his thoughts as he spoke. "Sevina, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for how I've treated you. I've wanted to tell you the truth for so long now, but…I didn't know how. I didn't want…I didn't…" He trailed off and ran, running his fingers through his hair. He took a deep breath and looked at her again. "I love you. I love you so much."

Sevina bit her lip, trying to fight down the ball of emotion that blocked her throat. She listened to him saying the things she had wanted to hear for so long, but had never believed she would. It still didn't explain things, though and she was still confused. "Then why did you…behave like you did? You cut me out of your life, you pushed me away."

"I was trying to protect you. That day, when I jumped off the roof, I realised that I loved you, but I also saw the kind of danger you would put yourself in to protect me. I didn't want you to keep getting hurt because of my screw ups. I figured…if I loved you, I had to let you go so that you could be safe. So that you could have a chance to be happy without me." Sevina stared at him, trying to process what he was saying, but she just couldn't. She felt extremely frustrated with herself and with him. "I _don't _understand. I want to…but I don't." Jeff crossed the space between them now. He took her hands and brought them up to his mouth, kissing her fingers gently before looking at her. "Pushing you away like that, was the worst mistake I ever made. It hurt, it physically hurt not being able to be around you and seeing how I was hurting you. I just didn't know what else to do." He moved to press his forehead against hers and closed his eyes, almost whispering his words. "Please, Sevina. I don't want you to hate me."

Sevina frowned and then placed her hands on his chest and pushed him back far enough that she could look at him properly. "Hate you? Jeff, don't you know anything? I don't _hate _you. I love you." They both stared at each other as the realisation finally hit. All this time, all the pain and misery, when they'd loved each other the whole time. They'd been torturing themselves for no reason at all. If one of them had only found the courage to say this sooner, how different would things have been?

Jeff started laughing first and Sevina soon joined it. Their laughter was tinged with hysterics and stained by tears, tears that were a result of realising how much time they'd lost, how close they'd come to losing each other completely. The threads had hung on though, like some part of them knew the truth and refused to sever the ties that kept them together. Sevina could feel herself crying, but it was if her system had gone into shock and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Jeff let a few tears escape, but seeing Sevina crying was enough to motivate him into movement. He clasped her face in his hands, kissing the tears away.

Sevina was shaking, she could feel it, like a continuous electric current was running all through her body. Jeff continued to kiss her face, but suddenly that wasn't enough. She pulled his hands from her face, placed her hands on his and pulled his mouth to hers for a real kiss. She felt him pull her tight against him and her hands moved to thread into his hair, holding him closer still. There was no doubt in her mind this time, she knew, like it was written into her very soul, that he loved her. He loved her as much as she loved him and all that love, all that stored up passion and frustration poured out of them both and into the kiss.

There was no time, no crowd above, no outside world. There was just the two of them. Two bodies, one soul and they belonged utterly to each other. Sevina's body fit against Jeff's like it had been specially carved out to be there. Her touch was cool, sharply contrasted by the heat coming off him. Fire and Ice, so perfectly opposite but at the same time created purposely for the other.

When they finally broke apart, they were both gasping for breath. Sevina's hands moved to Jeff's chest, laying over his heart. She could feel it's accelerated rhythm under her fingers and it was perfectly in time with her own. She lifted her eyes to his and saw them brighter than she remembered, more emerald, shining out of his face. She could almost see herself reflected in them and as Jeff looked at her, he thought the same thing. Her eyes, which had always been a very dark shade of blue, were lighter now, as if some darkness had left her. They stood there for along time, not saying anything, just enjoying the freedom of being so close to each other, both reeling from the knowledge that they had been so wrong.

Slowly, awareness of their surroundings returned and they both lifted their gaze to the ceiling. They could hear the crowd above, chanting and screaming, stamping their feet and clapping their hands. They'd certainly given them a match they wouldn't forget for a long time, even by WrestleMania standards. Sevina had never been more proud of Matt and Jeff. They had really raised the bar and made certain that they're names would go down in history.

The night wasn't over for them though, there was still one more matter to be dealt with. Matt's plan to force them together had certainly worked thus far, but the rest of his plan was a big step. It was a huge leap from nothing. Two hours ago they hadn't even really been on speaking terms and now they had to make a decision like this. They looked at one another, both slightly questioning. Jeff leaned down and kissed Sevina again, much more gently this time. When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers, just looking at her. "So, what do you think? You wanna get married tonight?"


	43. Chapter 42

Matt had been meticulous in his planning and enlisting Maria had been a very good decision. She had been the perfect person to pick out decorations for the ring and to choose a dress for Sevina. It had been difficult to make sure everything was perfect, given that Jeff and Sevina had had no idea about what was going to happen. He hadn't stopped at the small details though, he'd gone all out with this one and Jeff stood nervously in the ring, which had been transformed, the front ropes had been taken down, steps placed leading up into it and it was laid with white and blue flowers and ribbons. Three stand alone microphones had been set up and the minister was stood towards the back, talking quietly to Matt. Jeff was wearing the suit that Matt had had tailored for him, it was white, with a black shirt and white tie. It fit him perfectly and Jeff had to marvel at his brother's forward planning.

His mind didn't linger over that long though as Bad Romance came on and Maria came out. She looked extremely pretty in a blue dress that kind of floated around her. Then, a few moments behind her, Sevina emerged and Jeff was shocked to see her on her father's arm. Matt had flown Victor in for the occasion. His eyes though, were glued to Sevina. He'd never seen her look more radiant. The dress was simple, corseted down to her hips with layers of falling silk for the skirts. It was beaded down one side with blue crystals. The streak of scarlet was gone from her hair, replaced by bright blue, covered slightly by the delicate tiara. She was stunning.

She looked at her father, who was beaming at her and she saw pride in his eyes and nearly didn't make it down the ramp. She then looked around and saw her siblings, who were stood just inside of the crowd barrier, grinning at her. The emotion was almost overwhelming. Matt had brought her entire family here for this. Then her eyes found Jeff and she felt her heart swell. He was looking like someone had just clubbed him over the head. She felt herself blush, something she never did and she ducked her head a little to hide it. The crowd were screaming and cheering.

As Sevina reached the steps into the ring, Maria took her small bouquet of forget-me-nots and winked a her. Victor helped her up the steps and into the ring. He then kissed her cheek, saying quietly to her; "I never said it before, but I am so proud of you. I love you, baby girl." Sevina felt tears forming in her eyes, but fought to keep them down. She smiled at him and then watched as he backed away. She turned to look at Jeff, trying to keep the grin off her face. He was grinning right back at her as the minister cleared his throat and the crowd fell silent. "As per request from Jeff and Sevina, this will be a legitimate and legally binding wedding ceremony, sealing not only their on-screen relationship, but their personal love for each other." The crowd screamed. Only in Vegas. Sevina glanced around at them all, then looked back at Jeff.

She then turned sharply towards the ramp as Slow Chemical began to play. Kane and The Undertaker suddenly appeared, but they were dressed in their street clothes and they weren't their characters, they were simply Mark and Glen. Glen lifted a microphone to his mouth. "We're not here to cause trouble. We just want to be here to watch our little sister get married." Sevina had to put a hand over her mouth to physically hold in the emotion she was feeling. Glen and Mark entered the ring and both of them kissed her and shook hands with Jeff before moving back down the steps to stand with Maria. Sevina blew them both a kiss and then looked at the minister and nodded.

Just as things looked like they might settle down, the SmackDown theme music played and Vince McMahon, accompanied by Teddy Long appeared at the top of the ramp. Sevina looked at Matt, but he seemed as non-plussed as she did. She looked at Vince as he began to speak. "You look surprised. Well, we weren't going to miss the wedding of two of our biggest stars! And, as a special gift, from us in the WWE to you both, we're giving you an all expenses paid, two week honeymoon to Hawaii!" The crowd erupted again, but Vince wasn't done. "Sevina, Jeff, you've both worked hard for us and you've made a lot of friends in the locker rooms of both SmackDown and Raw and it's only fair that they should be here to celebrate with you! Ladies and Gentleman, please welcome, only here in Vegas, the WWE Superstars!"

Suddenly there was an outpouring. The locker room emptied onto the ramp. Every person that mattered came onto the ramp. Sevina stared at them all, all the faces she knew so well and loved. She had to cover her face with her hands to try and keep herself composed but it didn't work. She felt the tears running down her face. Jeff was close to the same. He'd never felt more humbled or more honoured than he did now as he watched the people he worked with, the friends he had come to love over the years, all coming out to be a part of this. He swallowed hard, trying to shift the sudden lump in his throat.

All the trials, the pain and the sadness, the months of unendurable misery had suddenly completely flipped and now he had everything he could ever want. It was as if all the tests in his life had been leading up to this moment, preparing him for the strength of the emotion he was feeling now. It hadn't worked, he felt a tear slip down his cheek and brushed it hastily away. He wasn't sad, he was unexplainably happy, his heart felt like it was going to burst right out of his chest.

Vince then addressed them again. "Jeff, we've also done something that Matt was unable to do on such short notice. If you look to your left, you will see a very familiar face." Jeff frowned and turned, his eyes widening as he saw the officials helping his father over the crowd barrier. Gilbert Hardy walked up the steps and embraced his youngest son and then his soon-to-be daughter in-law. He finally moved to stand next to Matt, hugging him tightly for a moment. Then things finally settled down and everyone that mattered was present.

Sevina collected herself and with a handily presented tissue from Maria, she wiped the tear stains from her face. She looked at Jeff, smiled and then turned her face to the minister. He began the ceremony and Sevina listened raptly. When it came to the vows, he announced that they were to deliver customised vows of their own composition. Jeff was up first and he floundered for a moment, then inspiration struck his mind and he began to recite one of his poems, but changed;

"When I am lost for words…you find me with your actions,

When I am lost in life…I become found in your reactions,

I stopped searching for who I am…and found you where it all started,

You are a flight in motion…soaring since departed,

I was an unfinished puzzle, that you completed,

Yours truly, Jeff Hardy,

Ours truly, this life."

The crowd cheered as he slipped the ring onto her finger, many of them recognising the words from his poem. Sevina bit her lip, determined not to burst into tears again. She took a deep breath and looked at Jeff with untempered love in her eyes.

"Jeff, I was lost. I didn't know who I was, but I knew that my life was empty. Then you found me. Then you pulled me out of the darkness and showed me a world of colour and light. You're my best friend and the final piece of me. There are no words that can encapsulate how much I love you. Without you, there is nothing. You make me fly and I vow to spend every day for the rest of my life, showing you how much I love you."

She gently placed the ring on his finger. Both rings had been engraved. Sevina's was engraved with the words; 'Immune to Fear', whilst Jeff's had been engraved with; 'You Make Me Fly'. Once the rings were exchanged, then minister closed the ceremony. Jeff moved to take Sevina in his arms and he kissed her for all the world to see, not hiding even an ounce of his love for her. The superstars in the aisle led the cheering and confetti exploded from the rafters, raining down over them. When they broke apart, Sevina laughed, she couldn't help it. She looked at Jeff, pure love in her gaze. "I love you." Jeff grinned at her and kissed her again briefly. "I love you too, Mrs Hardy." Sevina laughed again and then felt arms going around her. Her father and siblings were in the ring, reaching out to draw her in and hug her. When they let her go, she looked at Matt. He nodded to her and grinned, then opened his arms. She flew into them and hugged her new brother-in-law. She clung to him tightly and whispered in his hear; "Thank you, Big Brother." He smiled and gently wiped away the couple of tears that had escaped her eyes.

She let then let out a noise of surprise as Jeff suddenly swept her off her feet and into his arms. She looked at him, but he silenced her questions with another kiss. He then carried her down the steps and up the ramp. The assembled superstars parted to make a path for them.


	44. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_This is my life,_

_It's not what it was before,_

_All these feelings I've shared..._

Jeff flopped down on the bed in the hotel room, waiting for Sevina. He glanced out of the open balcony doors, he could see the ocean from here. He smiled a little, twisting his wedding ring around his finger, it still felt strange, but in a completely wonderful way. He looked up as Sevina walked out of the bathroom in her underwear, rubbing her hair with a towel. He grinned at her and pushed himself up on his elbows. "You owe me a thousand bucks." Sevina lifted her eyebrows at him, tilting her head. "What for?" Jeff's grin turned to a smirk and he sat up. "You said that the day I got you into the shower with me, you'd give me a thousand bucks." Sevina stared at him, her mouth opening and closing mutely. She couldn't believe he'd remembered that! She threw her wet towel at him. "No chance, Hardy!" Jeff threw the towel back at her. "Every chance, Hardy!" Sevina laughed and fell onto the bed beside him. She leaned over and kissed him, still reeling from being able to do that whenever she wanted. "Fine, but you can use it to replace the fender that you broke on my car."

"That was an accident! You were distracting me!" Sevina grinned wickedly and then hopped to her feet and began to dress. Jeff made a noise of complaint as she pulled her shorts on. She stuck her tongue out at him and he dove off the bed, tackling her onto the ground. She squealed and laughed, trying to wriggle free.

_And these are my dreams,_

_That I've never lived before,_

_Somebody shake me,_

_Cause I, I must be sleeping..._

"Aw, I don't wanna go back." Sevina whined, hanging onto Jeff's arm as they walked through the airport. He laughed and kissed the top of her head, nudging her with his suitcase. "You're telling me you haven't been missing it the last couple of days?" Sevina pouted at him, but she shrugged, unable to deny it. Hawaii had been incredible, the best two weeks of her life, but both she and Jeff had started to feel restless towards the end of the second week, itching to return to work and to their family. Jeff laughed, knowing why she hadn't answered. He stopped just before they got the arrivals gate and put his suitcases down. He then turned to Sevina, resting his hands on her hips. "We've got a whole lifetime to be with each other now. We'll never have to be apart again, not for any length of time." Sevina smiled and loosely crossed her wrists behind his neck, pulling him down to kiss her.

Jeff pulled away reluctantly after a long time and grabbed the cases again. They both stopped dead at the sight that greeted them. Matt was there, with Maria. Only…he was _with_ Maria. She was leaning up, with her arms around his neck and the two of them were kissing fiercely. Sevina and Jeff stared at them, then burst out laughing. "How long were we gone?" Jeff snickered and then walked over, coughing loudly. "Excuse me, if you could cease your hoover impressions for a moment…" Matt and Maria broke apart, then Maria squealed and hugged Jeff quickly, before almost tackling Sevina. Matt grinned sheepishly at Jeff and shrugged. "Hey, who says you get to have all the fun?"

_Now that we're here,_

_It's so far away,_

_All the struggle we thought was in vain..._

"Sevina! Come on, babe!"

"Just a second!" Sevina half stumbled out of the bathroom, still wrestling her hair into a ponytail. The extensions were long since gone and she had grown her hair out naturally. Now it was blue with streaks of purple in it. Jeff's hair was purple with streaks of blue. It had been a spontaneous moment of madness when they'd decided to co-ordinate their hair. Jeff took her hand and lead her downstairs. They had moved into Sevina's house in Cameron, both deciding it was better. Sevina almost tripped over the dog at the bottom of the stairs. "Ow! Albert!" She shook her head at the English Bull Terrier who just wiggled his butt excitedly and barked at her. She stroked him vigorously and then kissed the top of his stocky head.

Jeff was getting impatient, so Sevina quickly straightened up and followed him out. "You know, I'm sure Matt wouldn't mind if we were a bit late."

"I know, but this is our party, remember? We can't be late to our own party." Sevina rolled her eyes and grinned mischievously. She grabbed Jeff's hand, pulling him back and kissing him fiercely. He let out a soft groan and pulled her tightly against him, returning the kiss with fervour. As much as she'd have been happy to stand here forever, or even just drag her husband back inside, it would completely negate the point she was trying to make. She pulled away, grinned and stepped out of his arms. "Come on. We don't want to be late." Jeff growled at her and she giggled, then took off running as he chased after her.

_All the mistakes,_

_One life contained,_

_They all finally start to go away..._

1...2...3! Sevina flew to her feet, her arms in the air. She felt the heaviness of leather and metal as the women's championship belt was placed in her hands. She stared at it for a moment, then lifted it high above her head to show to the crowd, who cheered and screamed for her. Jeff entered the ring and lifted her up, spinning her around. They'd both been back on Raw for only two months when Sevina had received the push for the championship. They'd been a little nervous when they'd found out she'd been traded back, but luckily, Vince seemed to understand that they did not want to be separated and he sent Jeff along too.

Sevina kissed the cold metal on the front of the belt and lifted it high again. She then kissed Jeff, before breaking away. She jumped up to the top turnbuckle and held the belt high, her other hand presenting the gun hand signature. The crowd were on their feet, cheering for her, celebrating with her. She was very much a champion of the people. As she looked out through the sea of faces, she caught sight of a familiar face. She winked at Lisa, who grinned back at her. The young girl had become a firm friend and Sevina was now mentoring her, helping her to live her dream.

_Now that we're here it's so far away,_

_And I feel like I can face the day,_

_And I can forgive,_

_And I'm not ashamed to be the person that I am today..._

"Jeff, I have to go. Maria will kill me if I miss her hen party." Jeff pouted, pulling Sevina in for another kiss. Two years later and their relationship hadn't dimmed in the slightest. They still couldn't get enough of each other. Sevina prised herself away reluctantly and slapped Jeff's chest lightly. "You have to go to Matt's anyway. He wont be happy if you miss the 'stag do of the century'." Jeff snorted with laughter a Sevina's bad impression of Matt, but nodded. He wouldn't miss his brother's party for the world. He kissed Sevina again, but briefly. "It's just so hard to let you go out when you're dressed like that."

Sevina laughed and twirled in front of him. She was dressed in a short black skirt that flowed around the top of her legs and a black halter top with flat, knee-high boots. Since they'd been married, Sevina seemed less afraid of being feminine. She seemed more and more comfortable with herself. "I'm going. Before we both get killed." She kissed him again, grabbing her purse and then darting out of the door before he could convince her to stay.

_These are my words,_

_That I've never said before,_

_I think I'm doing okay,_

_And this is the smile,_

_That I've never shown before,_

_Somebody shake me,_

_Cause I, I must be sleeping._

It's been three years since Jeff and I got married and I don't regret it for a moment. I do still wonder what would have happened if we hadn't wasted all that time, but I wouldn't trade what we have for anything. He makes me feel alive, like I can do anything and I know that I can because he's there with me, every step of the way.

Work is hectic, as always, but it's more fun now than it's ever been. Having Matt and Jeff there, the way they always should have been, is like a dream come true. Teaching Lisa is also amazing. She's so bright and talented, picking everything up so quickly. She's going to be an awesome wrestler some day. She kinda makes me want kids. Not right now, neither of us are ready for that yet, but in the future maybe. It's something to think about.

Matt and Maria are disgustingly happy, as always. I can't believe they're having a baby! Still shocks me. It's strange, but in the last three years, everything has fallen into place. My dad is so supportive of me and he even comes to see the shows. I have a new family now, but my old family are still a huge part of my life. We're one big family now, instead of being broken into bits and pieces. I don't know how I ever lived without the people I have now. I don't know how I survived all that time without Jeff.

Mark and Glen stay in regular contact and I'm glad. I love them both so much, they're also like a part of this strange family. My life is how I always dreamed it would be one day. I know that there will be tests in the future and there will be hard times. Jeff and I are going to argue and fight from time to time and work is going to put pressure on us both, but we can handle it. We're strong enough to face anything as long as we're together.

So here's to the future and living the dreams. Here's to never giving up and always holding onto hope.

"Sevina? What are you doing?" Sevina closed her journal and looked at Jeff, smiling. "Nothing. You ready to go?" Jeff nodded, pulling on his arm bands. Sevina stood up and walked over to him. "Well, come on then, Mr WWE Champion." She patted the belt around his waist, but as she went to walk away, he pulled her back and capturing her mouth in a lip bruising kiss. They broke apart and looked at each other, both smiling, not hiding the love they had for each other. Sevina sighed happily. "You make me fly."

_If you love someone, let them go…if they come back to you, they're yours forever**.**_

**_A/N: So, it's done. All finished. Thank you for reading. By the way, the lyrics in this chapter are from Staind - So Far Away_**

**_In particular, I want to say thanks to I Luv Hardy, Musichick06 and DragonMoonStone because without you three, I honestly wouldn't have ever finished this. I feel like I know you all and I look forward to talking to you all again in the future!_**

**_For the people who regularly read this, but didn't review (I know there are a few of you) thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. I may not have had the chance to talk to you, but I'm glad you found it worth your time to read this :D_**

**So, for me, as a favour, if everyone who reads this could give me one last, final review, I'd be really, really happy! Please! Thanks everyone! xxx**

**As stated at the start, I own none of the characters except Sevina. I do not own the WWE or any of the music!**


	45. Chapter 45

To all my readers:

I have begun writing the prequel to this and posted the first two chapters of it.

It's called You Make Me Fly

Please review and let me know what you think! :D


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